Ovine Abortion by Neospora caninum: First Case Reported in Argentina

Hecker, Yanina P.; Morrell, Eleonora; Fiorentino, Marí­a Andrea; Gual, Ignacio; Rivera, Emilia; Fiorani, Franco; Dorsch, Matías A.; Gos, María Laura; Pardini, Lais Luján; Scioli, María V.; Magariños, Sergio; Paolicchi, Fernando Alberto; Cantón, Germán; Moore, D.P.

doi:10.2478/s11686-019-00106-z

Cited by 16 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In Spanish sheep flocks, the seroprevalence of N. caninum ranged from 1.9% to 10.1% [33][34][35][36]. However, in flocks with reproductive failure associated with N. caninum infection, the seroprevalence was higher (30-34%) [8,10] and similar to the seroprevalence rate (32%) found in this study. Moreover, the histological lesions compatible with N. caninum infection and the high N. caninum DNA detection rate found in placentas and aborted foetuses from seropositive and aborted dams corroborated that N. caninum was a major cause of abortions in the investigated flock.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…The abortion rate in this flock reached 25.6% in 2018, which is far above the 5% considered acceptable [39]. An abortion rate higher than 5% was previously described in ovine flocks with N. caninum-associated abortions [5,10]. The presence of stillbirths was registered; however, contrary to previous studies [8][9][10], stillbirths were not differentiated from foetal losses during pregnancy.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 69%

“…An abortion rate higher than 5% was previously described in ovine flocks with N. caninum-associated abortions [5,10]. The presence of stillbirths was registered; however, contrary to previous studies [8][9][10], stillbirths were not differentiated from foetal losses during pregnancy. Ovine and bovine neosporosis shared several similarities such as the occurrence of repeated abortions and its association with high antibody titres and the predominance of efficient endogenous transplacental transmission.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

“…Traditionally, the zoonotic parasite T. gondii was considered as the main parasite causing abortion in sheep [28]. However, recent evidence suggests that N. caninum is also linked to abortion and neonatal mortality in sheep [5,7,8,10]. Most of the studies focused on N. caninum in sheep have investigated the seroprevalence by sampling a representative number of animals from several flocks [13,15,29,30] or testing for N. caninum DNA presence in aborted foetuses from several flocks [17,20,31,32].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Neosporosis is one of the most important infectious causes of abortion in cattle worldwide, with estimated annual losses of $1.298 billion in the cattle industry [3]. Neospora caninum Pathogens 2021, 10, 1518 2 of 18 was also described as a cause of reproductive disorders in sheep in 1990 [4], and the findings in the last three decades suggest that ovine neosporosis may be a relevant cause of abortions [5][6][7] or stillbirths [8][9][10] in some sheep production systems. However, the impact of N. caninum infection in the ovine industry should be quantified.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Dynamics of Neospora caninum-Associated Abortions in a Dairy Sheep Flock and Results of a Test-and-Cull Control Programme

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Neospora caninum is an apicomplexan parasite that can cause abortions and perinatal mortality in sheep. Although ovine neosporosis has been described worldwide, there is a lack of information about the relationship between N. caninum serostatus and the reproductive performance. In this study, we described the infection dynamics in a dairy sheep flock with an abortion rate up to 25% and a N. caninum seroprevalence of 32%. Abortions were recorded in 36% and 9% of seropositive and seronegative sheep, respectively. Seropositive sheep were more likely to abort twice (OR = 4.44) or three or more times (OR = 10.13) than seronegative sheep. Endogenous transplacental transmission was the main route of transmission since 86% of seropositive sheep had seropositive offspring. Within dams that had any abortion, seropositive sheep were more likely than seronegative ones to have female descendants that aborted (OR = 8.12). The slight increase in seropositivity with the age, the low percentage of animals with postnatal seroconversion or with low avidity antibodies, and the seropositivity of one flock dog, indicated that horizontal transmission might have some relevance in this flock. A control programme based on selective culling of seropositive sheep and replacement with seronegative animals was effective in reducing the abortion rate to 7.2%.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 69%

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Dynamics of Neospora caninum-Associated Abortions in a Dairy Sheep Flock and Results of a Test-and-Cull Control Programme

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

A survey on Apicomplexa protozoa in sheep slaughtered for human consumption

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Infections with the Apicomplexa Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, and Sarcocystis spp. are common causes of reproductive disorders in sheep. However, few epidemiological studies regarding co-infections with these three protozoa are reported in sheep in Italy. For this reason, this study aims to evaluate possible co-infections with T. gondii, N. caninum, and Sarcocystis spp. in sheep slaughtered for human consumption. From April to July 2019, individual blood, brain, heart, and diaphragm samples were collected from 138 sheep after slaughtering. The presence of IgG anti-Toxoplasma in serum samples was evaluated through ELISA. DNA of the three protozoa was investigated using specific PCRs. Co-infection with T. gondii, N. caninum and Sarcocystis spp. was found in 66.7% of the examined sheep. Antibodies against T. gondii were found in the 36.2% of serum samples. The presence of T. gondii DNA was detected in the 67.4%, 77.5%, and 21.7% of the brain, heart, and diaphragm samples, respectively. Neospora caninum DNA was found in 72.5% of the examined brain samples. Sarcocystis spp. DNA was detected in 92% and 52.2% of the heart and diaphragm samples, respectively. Sequence analysis of the Sarcocystis spp. revealed the sole presence of Sarcocystis tenella. The present study demonstrates that sheep have a high risk of infection with the three Apicomplexa investigated, suggesting the need to adopt adequate measures to prevent the spread of these parasitic infections considering their clinical and economic impact on ovine production. Furthermore, the possible role sheep play in the zoonotic transmission of toxoplasmosis to humans was highlighted.

show abstract