Detection of anti-Neospora caninum antibodies in slaughtered sheep

Abstract

Neospora caninum is a protozoan that causes reproductive disorders in herbivores. Domestic and wild dogs have been considered its definitive hosts, and when these animals are affected, they may suffer from a neuromuscular disease. Recently, this infection has also gained significance in small ruminants. Although neosporosis is already a proven cause of mortality in lambs and congenital infection can occur, this parasite has only recently been considered a cause of abortion in these animals. The aim of this study was to detect anti-N. caninum antibodies in slaughtered sheep. Serum samples (n = 100) collected in a slaughterhouse located in the municipality of Palmeira dos Índios (09°24'26" S and 36°37'39" W), state of Alagoas, northeastern Brazil, were used in this study. Anti-N. caninum antibodies were detected by means of the Immunofluorescence Antibody Test (IFAT). The cutoff point was set at 50 and samples were titrated up to 800. Anti-N. caninum antibodies were detected in 13% (13/100) of the tested samples, 7.69% of which came from male sheep (1/13) and 92.31% (12/13) from females. Titers ranged from 50 to 800, with the majority of animals (46.15%; 6/13) presenting the maximum one (i.e., 800). Data herein reported demonstrated the circulation of N. caninum parasites among sheep in the study area. These findings are pivotal to improve the knowledge about the dynamics of this pathogen in an ovine population. Therefore, it is crucial to adopt sanitary measures to prevent infection by this parasite and thus reduce its economic impact on ovine production.

Seroprevalence and associated factors with Neospora caninum infection in sheep and goats slaughtered in the state of Paraíba, Brazil

“…In sheep, the seroprevalence found in this study was above 12%, remaining within the seroprevalence range described in studies from different states and regions of Brazil, ranging from 1.8% (Soares et al, 2009) to 64.2% (Tembue et al, 2011). The result of the present study corroborates the data found by Mendonça et al (2019) in the state of Sergipe, who obtained seropositivity of 12.4% and by Nunes et al (2020) with 13% seroprevalence in the state of Alagoas, both in the Northeast region. Despite the similarity of these seroprevalences, Moraes et al (2011) in the state of Maranhão found seroprevalence of 4.69% in sheep and Tembue et al (2011) found a seroprevalence of 64.2% in sheep from the state of Pernambuco, both in Northeast region which demonstrate a high divergence in states from the same region where the climatic conditions are similar.…”

“…These data illustrate a significant divergence from the findings presented in this study and others conducted in Brazil. It is important to acknowledge that variations between epidemiological studies can be attributed to several factors, including the inherent climatic conditions of the studied regions, the age of animals, the size of herds, the types of management practices, and variations in laboratory procedures such as evaluation methods, cutoff points used, the experience of the evaluator, and equipment maintenance (Dubey et al, 2007;Nunes et al, 2020).…”