Neospora

Trop Anim Health Prod (2009) 41:749–753 DOI 10.1007/s11250-008-9247-x

ORIGINAL PAPER

Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum antibodies in beef cattle in three southern states of Mexico
Zeferino Garcia-Vazquez & Rodrigo Rosario-Cruz & Felix Mejia-Estrada & Ivan Rodriguez-Vivas & Dora Romero-Salas & Manuel Fernandez-Ruvalcaba & Carlos Cruz-Vazquez

Accepted: 15 October 2008 / Published online:19 November 2008 # Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2008

Abstract The aims of the present study were to examine the seroprevalence of neosporosis in beef herds from three southern states of Mexico and determine the association with several risk factors. A cross-sectional serological survey for Neospora caninum was carried out by sampling a total of 596 animals from 31 herds in Chiapas,Veracruz, and Yucatan States and tested using an ELISA assay (IDEXX) to detect anti-N. caninum antibodies. The overall prevalence was 11.6%, (95% CI: 0.93–0.14), however, the prevalence for Chiapas was 15% (30/200) (95% CI: 0.11–0.21), in Yucatan 11.3% (21/186) (95% CI: 0.07– 0.17) and in Veracruz 8.6% (18/210) (95% CI: 0.05– 0.13). Of the 596 serum samples taken, 578 were from females and 18 werebulls., Only one bull sample was found seropositive from one herd in Veracruz State.
Z. Garcia-Vazquez (*) : R. Rosario-Cruz : M. Fernandez-Ruvalcaba Centro Nacional de Parasitología Veterinaria. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, INIFAP, Apartado Postal 206, CIVAC, Morelos C.P. 6225, México e-mail: garcia.zeferino@inifap.gob.mx

The overall herd-prevalence was 70.9% (22/31) (95%CI: 0.53–0.84), and by State was: Chiapas 90% (9/10) (95% CI: 0.60–0.98); Yucatan 72.7% (8/12) (95% CI: 0.39–0.86); and Veracruz 50% (5/10) (95% CI: 0.24– 0.76), respectively. The highest age-prevalences were found in animals 1 yr old (19.4% [95% CI: 0.01–0.35]) and 4 yrs old (19.6% [95% CI: 0.12–0.29]), and the lowest in animals 3 –yrs of age (6.2%,[95% CI: 0.02– 0.20]). No association was foundamong all the variables tested in this study since most of the ranches have similar management conditions. In conclusion, N. caninum infection is common among beef herds in the Mexican tropics. Keywords Beef cattle . Neospora caninum . Seroprevalence . Mexico

I. Rodriguez-Vivas Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán, México D.Romero-Salas Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, México C. Cruz-Vazquez Instituto Tecnológico El Llano Aguascalientes, A.P. 74-2 Admon, Postal No. 2. C.P. 20041 El Llano Aguascalientes, Ags, México

F. Mejia-Estrada Centro Experimental Pichucalco, Chiapas. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, INIFAP, México, México

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Trop Anim Health Prod(2009) 41:749–753

Abbreviations CI confidence interval DNA deoxyribonucleic acid OR odds ratio

Introduction Neospora caninum is a heteroxenous cyst-forming apicomplexan parasite which has emerged as an important cause of reproductive failure in cattle worldwide (Dubey et al. 2007). In the Neospora life cycle, dogs (McAllister et al. 1998) and coyotes (Gondim et al. 2004) are both definitivehosts; cattle and other mammals are natural intermediate hosts (Dubey et al. 2007). Cattle are generally infected prenatally by transplacental infection from persistently infected dams (Björkman et al. 1996; Paré et al. 1996; Davison et al. 1999). Epidemiological evidence also suggests horizontal transmission (Davison et al. 1999; Dijkstra et al. 2001). Calves (De-Marez et al. 1999) and pregnantcows (Trees et al. 2002; McCann et al. 2007) can be experimentally infected by Neospora oocyst shedding by dogs when administered orally. In addition, the N. caninum life cycle has been reproduced by cyclical oral transmission between dogs and cattle (Gondim et al. 2002). Neospora caninum DNA was recently reported in fresh and frozen semen from naturally infected bulls (Ortega-Mora et al. 2003;...