Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Canadian Veterinary Journal logoLink to The Canadian Veterinary Journal
. 2000 Jun;41(6):464–467.

Vertical and horizontal transmission of Neospora caninum in dairy herds in Québec.

N Bergeron 1, G Fecteau 1, J Paré 1, R Martineau 1, A Villeneuve 1
PMCID: PMC1476225  PMID: 10857030

Abstract

Neospora caninum is an important cause of abortion in dairy cattle. The objective of this observational study was to estimate the rate of vertical transmission of N. caninum in dairy herds in Québec and to investigate horizontal transmission in the same herds. The genealogy of cows from 23 dairy herds were examined. Prevalence of seropositive animals in herds studied varied from 4.3% to 61.8% (average, 21.9%). The overall rate of vertical transmission was estimated to be 44.4%, varying from 0% to 85.7%. Seven cases of horizontal transmission were identified in 6 of the 23 herds studied. Estimated vertical transmission rate varied from herd to herd, but appeared to be higher in herds with a high prevalence of seropositive animals. Although horizontal transmission was identified in 6 herds, it does not appear to be the major route of infection for N. caninum.

Full text

PDF
464

Images in this article

466Figure 2.
on p.466

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Dubey J. P., Lindsay D. S. A review of Neospora caninum and neosporosis. Vet Parasitol. 1996 Dec 2;67(1-2):1–59. doi: 10.1016/s0304-4017(96)01035-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Dubey J. P. Neosporosis in cattle: biology and economic impact. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1999 Apr 15;214(8):1160–1163. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Dubey J. P. Recent advances in Neospora and neosporosis. Vet Parasitol. 1999 Aug 1;84(3-4):349–367. doi: 10.1016/s0304-4017(99)00044-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. McAllister M. M., Dubey J. P., Lindsay D. S., Jolley W. R., Wills R. A., McGuire A. M. Dogs are definitive hosts of Neospora caninum. Int J Parasitol. 1998 Sep;28(9):1473–1478. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Paré J., Fecteau G., Fortin M., Marsolais G. Seroepidemiologic study of Neospora caninum in dairy herds. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1998 Dec 1;213(11):1595–1598. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Paré J., Thurmond M. C., Hietala S. K. Congenital Neospora caninum infection in dairy cattle and associated calfhood mortality. Can J Vet Res. 1996 Apr;60(2):133–139. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Schares G., Peters M., Wurm R., Bärwald A., Conraths F. J. The efficiency of vertical transmission of Neospora caninum in dairy cattle analysed by serological techniques. Vet Parasitol. 1998 Dec 31;80(2):87–98. doi: 10.1016/s0304-4017(98)00195-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Thurmond M. C., Hietala S. K. Culling associated with Neospora caninum infection in dairy cows. Am J Vet Res. 1996 Nov;57(11):1559–1562. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Thurmond M. C., Hietala S. K. Effect of Neospora caninum infection on milk production in first-lactation dairy cows. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1997 Mar 1;210(5):672–674. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Wouda W., Moen A. R., Schukken Y. H. Abortion risk in progeny of cows after a Neospora caninum epidemic. Theriogenology. 1998 May;49(7):1311–1316. doi: 10.1016/S0093-691X(98)00078-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Canadian Veterinary Journal are provided here courtesy of Canadian Veterinary Medical Association

RESOURCES