Seroprevalence and risk factors for Neospora caninum in goats in Santa Catarina state, Brazil

Abstract

Neosporosis is an infectious disease caused by the parasite Neospora caninum. Knowledge regarding neosporosis in goats is still quite limited, especially in the state of Santa Catarina (SC), southern Brazil. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the seroprevalence and risk factors for N. caninum in goats in the western and mountain regions of SC. Blood samples were collected from 654 goats in 57 municipalities. The indirect immunofluorescence test was used for antibody detection against N. caninum. Thirty samples (4.58%) were seropositive, with titers ranging from 1:50 to 1:6400. An epidemiological survey was also conducted in order to identify risk factors for neosporosis in goats. It was found that reproductive problems on the farms, as well as the diet and direct contact with dogs were casual risks for neosporosis. These results indicate that N. caninum infects goats in these regions, which may lead to reproductive problems.

Neospora caninum: Seroprevalence in beef cattle in the mountainous region of Santa Catarina, Brazil

“…Previous studies have shown the circulation of the agent in different species in the mountainous region of Santa Catarina with occurrence of IgG antibodies against N. caninum in 13.0% of dogs in urban areas of Lages , 21.2% of dogs in rural areas of Lages (MOURA et al, 2012b), 2.6% of horses (MOURA et al, 2013), 4.58% of goats (TOPAZIO et al, 2014) and 5.83% and 7.0% of sheep (DALLA ROSA et al, 2011;MOURA et al, 2014).…”

Seroprevalence of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Neospora caninum</i> infections in goats from two Argentinean provinces

“…These differences could be attributed to the production system of the analyzed herds, because in Buenos Aires all of them are mainly dedicated to the production of dairy products. It is known that intensification of management practices as well as the greater contact with cats and dogs, which are maintained as pets and for the prevention of rodents, are suggested as potential risk factors which could justify such differences (Uzêda et al, 2007;Topazio et al, 2014). It is also important to point out the environmental conditions of Buenos Aires province where the humidity is higher than in the northwest of Córdoba; humidity favors the longer survival of the oocysts in the soil, which often can remain viable and infective for more than 18 months (Dubey, 2010;Dubey et al, 2017).…”

Parasites in dairy cattle farms in southern Brazil

“…Con base en estos resultados, puede estar justificado suponer que la contaminación de la zona de alimentación se encuentra más estrechamente vinculada con la infección por N. caninum (23). De manera complementaria al factor anterior, se encontró también que las granjas que ofrecen concentrado a los ganados eran más propensas a tener resultados positivos para N. caninum, este conocimiento es consistente con Topazio et al (6) donde se ha demostrado que las cabras de granja que con una rica dieta qué incluye concentrado tienen más of the infections, and a possible explanation for these may due to inadequate food storage what may make possible a direct contact between fed and infected dogs. Finally, larger farms were identify on the study as class 2 and 3 were associated to risk of N. caninum infection, in a study from Italy, the risk of individual cattle becoming seropositive increased with the size of the herd.…”

“…Estudios recientes han demostrado que varias especies de animales domésticos pueden ser infectadas, como ovejas, caballos y cabras (3,6). La enfermedad en el ganado bovino se han asociado con signos clínicos como el aborto, absorción, momificación y nacimiento de terneros débiles (7), pero generalmente los becerros nacen sanos, pero infectados, porque el N. caninum puede ser transmitido congénitamente.…”

“…Recent studies have shown that several species of domestic animals can be infected, such as sheep, horses and goats (3,6). The disease in cattle have been associated with clinical signs such as abortion, absorption, mummification or birth of weak calves (7), but usually the calves are born healthy, but infected, because the N. caninum can be transmitted congenitally.…”