Detection of Antibodies Against Sarcocystis neurona, Neospora spp., and Toxoplasma gondii in Horses From Costa Rica

Abstract

Serum samples from 315 horses from Costa Rica, Central America, were examined for the presence of antibodies against Sarcocystis neurona, Neospora spp., and Toxoplasma gondii by using the surface antigen (SAG) SnSAG2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the NhSAG1 ELISA, and the modified agglutination test, respectively. Anti- S. neurona antibodies were found in 42.2% of the horses by using the SnSAG2 ELISA. Anti- Neospora spp. antibodies were found in only 3.5% of the horses by using the NhSAG1 ELISA, and only 1 of these horses was confirmed seropositive by Western blot. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 34.0% of the horses tested, which is higher than in previous reports from North and South America. The finding of anti- S. neurona antibodies in horses from geographical areas where Didelphis marsupialis has wide distribution suggests that D. marsupialis is a potential definitive host for this parasite and a source of infection for these horses.

Situação epidemiológica da infecção por Toxoplasma gondii em equídeos na microrregião do Brejo Paraibano

“…1,0-19,0) (Quadro 4). Göz et al 2007, Güçlü et al 2007, Bártová et al 2010, Hajialilo et al 2010, Karatepe et al 2010, Kouam et al 2010, Alanazi & Alyousif 2011, Boughattas et al 2011, Dangoudoubiyam et al 2011, Shaapan et al 2012, García-Bocanegra et al 2012. No Brasil, resultados próximos ao do presente trabalho foram obtidos por Langoni et al (2007) e Gazêta et al (1997), que encontraram 138 (7,0%) amostras positivas no MAT e 4,42% na RIFI, respectivamente.…”

“…Nos Estados Unidos foi relatada uma soroprevalência de 6,9% (Dubey et al 1999a) e 0,4% (Dubey et al 2003); mas dados de países latino americanos mostram que anticorpos para T. gondii são frequentes (Argentina, 13,1% e Costa Rica, 34,0%) (Dubey et al 1999b, Dangoudoubiyam et al 2011). Na Turquia, Akca et al (2004) e Karatepe et al (2010) relataram uma soropositividade em equinos de 20,6% na província de Kars, e na província de Nigde soropositividade de 7,2%, respectivamente.…”

Exposure of free-living jaguars to Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum and Sarcocystis neurona in the Brazilian Pantanal

“…are the etiological agents of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). Sarcocystis neurona is one of the most commonly diagnosed pathogens of neurological disorders in horses in North America (DUBEY et al, 2003a), and a high prevalence of antibodies has been reported in horses in Brazil, Argentina, and Costa Rica (DUBEY et al, 1999a, b;HOANE et al, 2006;DANGOUDOUBIYAM et al, 2011). Currently, the opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the only known definitive host for S. neurona in the United States , and Didelphis albiventris has been implicated as the definitive host for the transmission of S. neurona in South America (DUBEY et al, 2001b;HOANE et al, 2006).…”

Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis

“…Seroprevalence greater than 10% has been reported in some geographic regions, 6,[31][32][33][34][35] whereas other studies found antibodies against N hughesi in much lower proportions of horses (less than 3%). 29,30,[36][37][38][39] Some of the seroprevalence variation may be caused by geographic differences, but studies that used Western blot to confirm serologic results have suggested that seroprevalence to N hughesi is commonly overestimated. 34,36,39 A survey conducted by the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) estimated that the average annual incidence of EPM in horses 6 months of age or older was 14 AE 6 cases per 10,000 horses.…”

“…29,30,[36][37][38][39] Some of the seroprevalence variation may be caused by geographic differences, but studies that used Western blot to confirm serologic results have suggested that seroprevalence to N hughesi is commonly overestimated. 34,36,39 A survey conducted by the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) estimated that the average annual incidence of EPM in horses 6 months of age or older was 14 AE 6 cases per 10,000 horses. 40 Although it is apparent that equine neosporosis caused by N hughesi can manifest as a neurologic disease, [6][7][8][9][10] it remains unclear what proportion of EPM cases are attributable to this parasite species.…”