Neospora caninum seropositivity in cattle breeds in the South Fluminense Paraíba Valley, state of Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

RESUMO.-[Soropositividade para Neospora caninum e raças bovinas no vale do Paraíba sulfluminense, Estado do Rio de Janeiro.] A realização deste estudo teve como objetivo verificar a ocorrência diferenças na distribuição da infecção por Neospora caninum em bovinos leiteiros da raça Holandesa Preta e Branca e mestiços na Mesorregião Fluminense a maior bacia leiteira do Rio de Janeiro. De um total de 2.491 vacas foram coletadas amostras de sangue de 563 de forma não randomizada, pertencentes a 57 propriedades localizadas nos municípios de Resende e Rio Claro. O tamanho da amostra por propriedade foi proporcional ao número de animais alvo da mesma. O abortamento ou distúrbios reprodutivos não foram utilizados como critérios de seleção. Foi verificada associação altamente significativa entre a soropositividade e o padrão racial (p=0,006). Ao conduzir as análises entre apenas dois padrões verificou-se os seguintes resultados: HPB versus zebuínos (p=0,0028) com 2,65 mais chances de sorpositividade em bovinos HPB; HPB versus (zebuínos + Gir x Holandês) p=0,01, com 2,23 mais chances de sopositividade também na raça HPB. Não houve diferença significativa entre HPB versus Gir x Holandês (p=0,08) e entre os zebuínos e Gir x Holandês (p=0,11). Este estudo suporta a hipótese que existe uma estreita relação entre a presença da infecção e a The infection by Neospora caninum of different cattle breeds in dairy properties in two municipalities of the South Fluminense Paraíba Valley, state of Rio de Janeiro, was evaluated. Considering a sampling universe of 2,491 cows, blood samples were collected from 563 dairy cows in 57 farms, which were randomically selected in proportion to the number of animals, using a random stratified sampling system. For each property the number of selected cows was proportional to the herd size. Abortion or other reproductive disorders were not considered as criteria for selecting the animals, and seropositivity was determined by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A high association (p=0.006) between seropositivity and racial patterns was found. The analysis revealed that in comparison of pure black-and-white Holstein cows versus Zebu (p=0.0028), Holstein cows showed 2.65 times greater odds for seropositivity. In the same way, by comparing black-and-white Holstein versus Zebu + crossbreed Zebu/Holstein (p=0.01), it was noted that there is 2.23 times more chance for seropositivity in Holstein cattle. There were no significant differences concerning the comparison of Holstein cattle versus crossbreed Zebu/Holstein (p=0.08) or Zebu versus crossbreed Zebu/Holstein (p=0.11). This study supports the hypothesis that there is a close association between cattle breeds and the frequency of infection by N. caninum.

Anti-Neospora caninum antibodies among dairy cattle in a rural settlement, Paraná, Brazil

“…The seroprevalence observed in the present study (23.1%) are in agreement with the neosporosis seroprevalence from cross-sectional sampling studies on dairy cattle in Paraná state, which has been reported to range from 12 to 33% (LOCATELLI-DITTRICH et al, 2001;RAGOZO et al, 2003;GUIMARÃES JUNIOR et al, 2004;OGAWA et al, 2005;;CAMILLO et al, 2010) and 11.2 to 53.5% in Brazil (GONDIM et al, 1999;MELO et al, 2001;OGAWA et al, 2005;AGUIAR et al, 2006;MUNHOZ et al, 2006;MELO et al, 2006;MINERVINO et al, 2008;BENETTI et al, 2009;MUNHOZ et al, 2009;TEIXEIRA et al, 2010;BRUHN et al, 2013).…”

“…However, Guimarães Junior et al (2004) found that age was a risk factor for occurrence of anti-N. caninum antibodies. Munhoz et al (2009) examined 563 cows on 57 farms in the state of Rio de Janeiro and observed that the Holstein breed was 2.65 times more likely to be seropositive than zebu breeds.…”

All about neosporosis in Brazil

“…Pure bred Holstein cows had a higher exposure rate than mixed breeds (MUNHOZ et al, 2009) and an association between reproductive abnormalities (Table 4) (repeated estrus, repeated miscarriages and temporary anestrus) and seropositivity to N. caninum has been reported .…”

Seroprevalence and risk factors associated to Neospora caninum in dairy cattle herds in the municipality of Pasto, Colombia

“…It has been reported that there is a higher prevalence in dairy cattle than in beef cattle because of management factors facilitating the spread of the disease (9). Seroprevalence of N. caninum has been reported as follows: in Argentina 64.5% in cows with clinical history of abortion (10), in Paraguay a seroprevalence of 29.8% was detected by ELISA and it was identified as the major cause of abortions in meat and milk cattle (11).…”