Prevalence of antibodies to Neospora caninum in the serum of camels (Camelus dromedarius) from central Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Infection with the Apicomplexan parasite Neospora caninum occurs in domestic and wild animals worldwide. This parasite causes significant economic losses in the dairy industry worldwide. The current study was designed to assess the prevalence of N. caninum antibodies in the sera of camels (Camelus dromedarius) from Rakh Mahni, Bhakkar, Pakistan, to better understand the epidemiology of this important cause of bovine abortion in Pakistan. Eighty-one sera samples collected from apparently healthy camels (male = 19, female = 62) were tested for antibodies against N. caninum by using a commercially available competitive Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent assay diagnostic kit. Nine (11.1%) of 81 sera samples were found positive for antibodies to N. caninum. No significant (P > 0.05) difference in seroprevalence was observed between male and female camels or between different breeds. An increasing trend of seropositivity to N. caninum was seen with the age of animals indicating postnatal exposure to N. caninum infection. However, this increase in prevalence was not significant (P > 0.05). However, a significant (P < 0.05) difference in seroprevalence was noted among feeding style of animals, i.e., stall feeding, grazing, and mixed (grazing and stall feeding) feeding style. The prevalence was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in female animals 26.1% (6/23) with abortion history that of animals have had no such history 5.1% (2/39). Presence of antibodies to N. caninum in the sera of camels indicates that further studies are required to evaluate the importance of N. caninum as a cause of abortion or neonatal disease in these animals.

First molecular detection of Neospora caninum from naturally infected slaughtered camels in Tunisia

“…Some findings have shown that N. caninum infection was positively correlated with age of animals and prevalence increase significantly in adult animals (Iovu et al., 2012; Nazir et al., 2017; Selim & Abdelhady, 2020). We found the same trend herein, the highest N. caninum molecular detection was found in animals of more than 3 years old (6/9) and in animals aged between more than 1 and 3 years old (4/12).…”

“…Seroprevalence reaches 87% in cattle, it ranges from 0 to 64% in sheep, 0 to 26.6% in goats and 3.7 to 86% in camels Selim & Abdelhady, 2020). For camels, seroprevalence was varied between 11.1 and 86% (Bártová et al, 2017;Hamidinejat et al, 2013;Hilali et al, 1998;Mentaberre et al, 2013;Mohammed et al, 2020;Nazir et al, 2017;Sadrebazzaz et al, 2006;Selim and Abdelhady, 2020). The highest prevalence of anti-N. caninum antibodies was reported in Canary Islands (86%) by Mentaberre et al (2013) explained by the absence of the definitive host in the surveyed farms, resulting in the vertical transmission of this parasite in camels, the same trend was reported by López-Gatiu et al (2004).…”

“…Seroprevalence reaches 87% in cattle, it ranges from 0 to 64% in sheep, 0 to 26.6% in goats and 3.7 to 86% in camels (Dubey & Schares, 2007; Selim & Abdelhady, 2020). For camels, seroprevalence was varied between 11.1 and 86% (Bártová et al., 2017; Hamidinejat et al., 2013; Hilali et al., 1998; Mentaberre et al., 2013; Mohammed et al., 2020; Nazir et al., 2017; Sadrebazzaz et al., 2006; Selim and Abdelhady, 2020). The highest prevalence of anti‐ N. caninum antibodies was reported in Canary Islands (86%) by Mentaberre et al.…”

“…Anti‐ N. caninum antibodies in camels were detected in several regions in the world with a seroprevalence that varies between 3.7 and 86% (Selim & Abdelhady, 2020). Serological studies were carried out in Egypt (Hilali et al., 1998; Selim & Abdelhady, 2020), Pakistan (Nazir et al., 2017), Iran (Sadrebazzaz et al., 2006), Centre of Iran (Hamidinejat et al., 2013), Spain (Mentaberre et al., 2013), Czech Republic (Bártová et al., 2017), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Mohammed et al., 2020) and Sudan (Ibrahim et al., 2014).…”