Neospora caninum has gained considerable attention through its role in the aetiology of bovine abortion. Due to its close phylogenetic relationship with Toxoplasma gondii, respective unequivocal differential diagnosis deserves special consideration. In order to evaluate the diagnostic performance of molecular and immunodiagnostic techniques and to provide insights into the epidemiological significance of bovine neosporosis in Switzerland, we conducted a study on 83 cases of bovine abortion: of these, 24 (29%) foetal brains were positive by Neospora-PCR, six of these foetuses were simultaneously seropositive in Neospora-IFAT and/or somatic antigen-ELISA. Conversely, four (5%) foetal brains were considered positive by Toxoplasma-PCR, two of which were also seropositive in the Toxoplasma-P30-ELISA and/or direct agglutination test. The seroprevalence in 1689 cattle sera obtained from 113 diary farms was 11.5% (95% confidence interval: 9.2-13.8) by Neospora-somatic antigen-ELISA were and 10.7% (95% confidence interval: 8.3-12.6) by Toxoplasma-P30-ELISA. From the same samples, 1.1%, less than statistically expected, were positive in both ELISA. Within selected groups of cow-calf farms, the seroprevalence determined using the Neospora-somatic antigen-ELISA was 14% (95% confidence interval 5.0-23.0) for dams and 15% (95% confidence interval: 3.0-28.0) for offspring calves. Seroprevalences determined by Toxoplasma-P30-ELISA were 8% (95% confidence interval: 4.0-12.0) for dams and 3% (95% confidence interval: 0.3-6.0) for calves. None of the sera gave a positive reaction in both ELISA. Our data indicated that prenatal neosporosis appears as an important cause of bovine abortion in Switzerland.

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In donation after circulatory death (DCD), cardiac grafts are subjected to warm ischemia in situ, prior to a brief period of cold, static storage (CSS) at procurement, and ex situ, normothermic, machine perfusion (NMP) for transport and graft evaluation. Cold ischemia and normothermic reoxygenation during NMP could aggravate graft injury through continued accumulation and oxidation, respectively, of mitochondrial succinate, and the resultant oxidative stress. We hypothesized that replacing CSS with hypothermic, oxygenated perfusion (HOPE) could provide cardioprotection by reducing cardiac succinate levels before NMP. DCD was simulated in male Wistar rats. Following 21 minutes in situ ischemia, explanted hearts underwent 30 minutes hypothermic storage with 1 of the following: (1) CSS, (2) HOPE, (3) hypothermic deoxygenated perfusion (HNPE), or (4) HOPE + AA5 (succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor) followed by normothermic reperfusion to measure cardiac and metabolic recovery. After hypothermic storage, tissue ATP/ADP levels were higher and succinate concentration was lower in HOPE vs CSS, HNPE, and HOPE + AA5 hearts. After 60 minutes reperfusion, cardiac function was increased and cellular injury was decreased in HOPE compared with CSS, HNPE, and HOPE + AA5 hearts. HOPE provides improved cardioprotection via succinate oxidation prior to normothermic reperfusion compared with CSS, and therefore is a promising strategy for preservation of cardiac grafts obtained with DCD.

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