Chemotherapy of Theileria parva infection

EAST coast fever (ECF), the most important tick-borne disease of cattle in eastern and central Africa, is caused by the protozoan parasite Theileria parva. No successful therapy is available and mortality can reach 96% (ref. 1), although large doses of tetracyclines have some prophylactic effect2. The search for an active drug has been hindered by the lack of a laboratory model of the infection. An in vitro screening process has been established, using the infected bovine lymphoid cell culture methods developed by Malmquist et al.3. This has now shown that 2-hydroxy-3-(8-cyclohexyloctyl)-1,4- naphthoquinone (Menoctone, Sterling-Winthrop) has a high level of anti-theileria activity in vitro. Subsequent tests in cattle artificially infected with ECF confirmed the activity of this compound against the disease. © 1976 Nature Publishing Group.