Abstract
Neospora caninum is a recently recognized protozoan organism that causes fatal neuromuscular disease in dogs and abortions and stillbirths in cattle and other animals (Dubey & Lindsay 1993). The parasite is morphologically similar and phylogenetically very closely related to the cyst-forming coccidium Toxoplasma gondii (Ellis et al. 1994, Holmdahl et al. 1994). This group of parasites has a two-host life cycle principally involving a carnivorous definitive host and a herbivorous or omnivorous intermediate host. However, with N. caninum, there is as yet no knowledge of any definitive host harbouring sexual stages of the parasite. The only known route of transmission is vertical from mother to foetus (Dubey & Lindsay 1993).
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the Ivar and Elsa Sandberg Foundation and the Swedish Council for Forestry and Agricultural Research. The assistance and advice of Katarina Gustafsson, Jens G Mattsson, Per Olle Nilsson, Jan Persson and Susanne Stenlund are gratefully acknowledged. The study was part of the EU research collaboration COST 820.
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