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Detection of Neospora caninum DNA in cases of bovine and ovine abortion in the South-West of Scotland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2019

P. M. Bartley Open the ORCID record for P. M. Bartley [Opens in a new window] ,
S. Guido ,
C. Mason ,
H. Stevenson ,
F. Chianini ,
H. Carty ,
E. A. Innes  and
F. Katzer
P. M. Bartley*
Affiliation:
Moredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, EH26 0PZ, Scotland, UK
S. Guido
Affiliation:
Moredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, EH26 0PZ, Scotland, UK University of Edinburgh, Veterinary Scientific Services, The Chancellor's Building, Edinburgh, EH16 4SB, Scotland, UK
C. Mason
Affiliation:
SRUC Veterinary Services, St. Marys Industrial Estate, Dumfries, DG1 1DX, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
H. Stevenson
Affiliation:
SRUC Veterinary Services, St. Marys Industrial Estate, Dumfries, DG1 1DX, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
F. Chianini
Affiliation:
Moredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, EH26 0PZ, Scotland, UK
H. Carty
Affiliation:
SRUC Veterinary Services, Auchincruive, Ayr, KA6 5AE, Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
E. A. Innes
Affiliation:
Moredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, EH26 0PZ, Scotland, UK
F. Katzer
Affiliation:
Moredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, EH26 0PZ, Scotland, UK
*
Author for correspondence: P. M. Bartley, E-mail: paul.bartley@moredun.ac.uk
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Abstract

Neospora caninum is a commonly diagnosed cause of reproductive losses in farmed ruminants worldwide. This study examined 495 and 308 samples (brain, heart and placenta) which were collected from 455 and 119 aborted cattle and sheep fetuses, respectively. DNA was extracted and a nested Neospora ITS1 PCR was performed on all samples. The results showed that for bovine fetuses 79/449 brain [17.6% (14.2–21.4)], 7/25 heart [28.0% (12.1–49.4)] and 5/21 placenta [23.8% (8.2–47.2)] were PCR positive for the presence of Neospora DNA. Overall 82/455 [18.0% (14.6–21.7)] of the bovine fetuses tested positive for the presence of N. caninum DNA in at least one sample. None (0/308) of the ovine fetal samples tested positive for the presence of Neospora DNA in any of the tissues tested. The results show that N. caninum was associated with fetal losses in cattle (distributed across South-West Scotland), compared to sheep in the same geographical areas where no parasite DNA was found. Neospora is well distributed amongst cattle in South-West Scotland and is the potential cause of serious economic losses to the Scottish cattle farming community; however, it does not appear to be a problem amongst the Scottish sheep flocks.

Keywords

AbortionbovinecattleDNANeospora caninumovineScotlandsheep
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 146 , Issue 7 , June 2019 , pp. 979 - 982
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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