High seroprevalance of Neospora caninum in dogs in Victoria, Australia, compared to 20 years ago.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Canids are definitive hosts of the apicomplexan parasite Neospora caninum, the leading cause of abortion in cattle worldwide. For horizontal transmission from canids to occur, oocysts of N. caninum must be shed by the definitive host into the environment of susceptible intermediate hosts such as cattle. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of N. caninum in canids in Victoria, Australia's leading dairy producing state.

Results

Neospora-like oocysts were observed in 8% (18/234) of faecal samples from wild dogs, domestic dogs and red foxes from Victoria, Australia. However, none tested positive for N. caninum DNA using a quantitative PCR. In a separate sample population, blood sera from 483 domestic dogs were tested for anti-N. caninum antibodies

SUBMITTER: Sloan S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5649066 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature