Prevalence and correlates of antibodies toNeospora caninumin dogs in Portugal

Abstract

Neosporosis, caused by Neospora caninum, is an important cause of abortion in cattle and of neurological disease in dogs. This study investigated the prevalence and correlates of antibodies to N. caninum in 441 dogs from the five regions of mainland Portugal. A commercial competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) was used and specific antibodies were detected in 35 (7.9%) dogs. Seroprevalence levels were significantly different among some of the studied regions, as well as between stray dogs (13.6%) and hunting dogs (1.7%). The difference between seropositivity in dogs presenting musculoskeletal or neurological signs (21.4%) and that in animals without clinical signs compatible with neosporosis (5.6%) was close to statistical significance. This is the first report on the seroprevalence of N. caninum in dogs in Portugal. Neosporosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of neurological disorders of dogs.

Seroepidemiological survey of Neospora caninum and its risk factors in farm dogs in Nakuru district, Kenya

“…This finding was in agreement with a Brazilian study which found an OR of 2.2 for lack of confinement and canine neosporosis [7]. Other studies have also reported higher NC seroprevalences in free-roaming dogs relative to other groups [20,21] while controlling for whether the dogs came from a rural, urban, or peri-urban setting. Our study was designed to control for setting in two ways: (1) in only sampling farm dogs, although some of the dogs did come from peri-urban farms around Naivasha and (2) the use of multiple variable logistic regression which is designed to examine and control for other variables, such as setting.…”

“…Similar differences between rural and urban dog populations have been reported [7,16,20,22], and this may be due to their greater likelihood to encounter cattle offal.…”

Serological study ofNeospora caninuminfection in dogs in central China

“…Out of the 1176 dog serum samples tested in this study, 172 were classified as seropositive for N. caninum , giving a seroprevalence of 14.63%. The prevalence of 14.63% was lower than the prevalence of 21.7% in central Poland [ 12 ], 32.0% in Italy [ 28 ], and 19.4%–33.0% in Iran [ 10 , 12 , 13 , 22 ], but higher than the reported prevalence of 3.6% in Korea [ 25 ], 7.9% in Portugal [ 21 ], and 12.4% in Brazil [ 31 ]. These differences, as previously commented, may be explained by the use of different serological tests, survey periods, sample sizes, and type of dog population.…”

“…Antibodies to N. caninum have been reported in dogs worldwide [ 21 , 28 , 29 ]. There have also been some surveys of N. caninum infections in dogs in some provinces or cities of China in recent years ( Table 1 , [ 1 , 16 , 18 , 19 , 26 , 30 , 32 , 35 ]).…”

First report of antibodies to Neospora spp. in horses from Portugal

“…infection in animals is scarce. Studies of N. caninum have been conducted in dogs and dairy cows in Portugal with a seroprevalence of 7.9% in domestic dogs (MAIA et al, 2014) and 46.0% in dairy cows with a history of abortion (CANADA et al, 2004).…”