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Neospora caninum infection is a leading cause of abortion in cattle worldwide. The pathogenesis of bovine neosporosis, particularly during the second term of gestation when most abortions occur in naturally infected dams, is poorly understood. In the present study foetal death was observed in 3 of 6 experimentally infected dams at 110 days of gestation after 6 weeks of experimental period. All experimental heifers were febrile between 3 and 5 days post infection (dpi). Inoculated dams seroconverted by 3-4 weeks post-infection with higher mean antibody titres in aborting dams compared to non-aborting heifers, although not significantly (p > 0.05). Neospora caninum DNA was detected in all infected foetuses and placentas, and three infected foetuses also had N. caninum antibodies. The parasite burden was higher in the brain of dead/aborted foetuses than in live foetuses. Interestingly, high IFN-γ production was detected in foetal fluids of a dead foetus found upon euthanasia of its dam, while no IFN-γ was observed in amniotic, allantoic and/or foetal fluids in the three infected foetuses that were alive upon maternal euthanasia. The present study confirms that the infection of dams on gestation day 110 with 10(7) tachyzoites of the Nc-Spain7 isolate causes abortion. The fact that some infected dams aborted and some did not is relevant to the understanding of N. caninum pathogenesis of abortion in naturally infected cows.

Our objectives were to develop an economic model to estimate the economic impact of twinning in dairy cows and to evaluate management strategies to mitigate the negative economic impact of twinning in dairy herds. A probabilistic tree considering spontaneous embryo reduction, early pregnancy loss, abortion, metritis, retained placenta, and culling rate at 120 d of the second, at the end of the second, and at the end of the third lactation was developed for a single pregnancy; we also developed 3 management options upon diagnosis of a twin pregnancy: (1) do nothing, (2) induce abortion using PGF, or (3) attempt manual embryo reduction. A value was given to each branch of the tree by simulating cow states on a farm for 1,400 d to encompass 4 consecutive lactations. The incomes considered in the simulations included milk income over feed cost, income from calves, and slaughter value upon culling. The expenses taken into account depending on each branch included additional inseminations and synchronization protocols, embryo reduction, induction of abortion, replacement heifers, and costs due to metritis and retained placenta. The gross value for a singleton pregnancy and the 3 management options upon diagnosis of a twin pregnancy were calculated by adding the value of all braches multiplied by their probability. The costs for the 3 management options were calculated by subtracting its gross value minus the gross value of a singleton pregnancy. The negative economic impact of a twin pregnancy ranged from $97 to $225 depending on the type of twin pregnancy (unilateral vs. bilateral), parity, and DIM when the twin pregnancy occurred. The overall negative economic impact of twinning on dairy farm profitability in the United States was estimated to be $96 million per year. Attempting manual embryo reduction early during gestation upon diagnosis of a twin pregnancy was the optimal management strategy for mitigating the negative economic impact of twinning under a wide variety of scenarios.

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