Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum infections in cattle in Kirkuk province

Abstract

Neospora caninum was identified as a coccidian parasite as in 1988, before that date it was misclassified as Toxoplasma gondii based on structural similarities. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of N. caninum in cattle in Kirkuk Province. A total of 185 cattle serum samples were collected randomly. Data about ages, gender and abortion history of females were recorded. Serum samples were examined by using ELISA as a screening test for the detection of anti- N. caninum IgG antibodies of past infection. Results showed that 53 (28.6%) cattle were seropositive infected, with significantly higher seropositive infection of age group >2 years in comparison to other age groups 94.3%. The distribution of N. caninum of total infected cattle showed that the seropositive infection in females were 47(88.7%), which was more than males 6 (11.3%) with a highly significant difference. There were 22(48.8%) aborted cattle out of 47 infected cattle with N. caninum with no significant difference in comparison with the healthy group.