A Review of Neospora caninum in cattle
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21423/bovine-vol41no1p10-14Keywords:
bovine, neospora, review, abortion, control programmes, disease control, disease prevalence, disease prevention, disease transmission, epidemiology, horizontal transmission, infections, intermediate hosts, neosporosis, parasites, parasitoses, protozoal infections, reviews, vertical transmissionAbstract
Neospora caninum is a protozoan similar to Toxoplasma and Sarcocystis species, and has become a commonly recognized cause of bovine abortion. Recent research has brought light on the epidemiology of N. caninum. Vertical transmission appears to be the primary method of infection, but horizontal transmission does occur and may be sufficient for maintenance of endemic infection within a herd. The coyote and domestic dog are definitive hosts for Neospora, and serologic studies show other wild canids can be infected as well. Herd control of infection may be attained by culling positive animals, preventing entry of positive animals and preventing likely routes of horizontal infection, although the economic value of these interventions requires further research.