Frequency of antibodies anti - Neospora caninum in cattle nelore region Pirassununga, São Paulo, Brazil

• Grant number: 12/22183-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2013
• End date: January 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Trícia Maria Ferreira de Sousa Oliveira
• Grantee: João Augusto Franco Leonel
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Neospora caninum is an obligate intracellular parasite, whose cycle predator-prey relationship shows, whose definitive hosts domestic and wild canids and can have horses and cattle as intermediate hosts, among other animals. This parasite was described in 1988 and, since its discovery, has been regarded as one of the most important causes of abortion in cattle. Furthermore, cause neuromuscular abnormalities and death in dogs. To check the frequency of anti-Neospora caninum in the cattle campus of the College of Animal Science and Food Engineering (FZEA / USP) in Pirassununga-SP will be analyzed 300 samples of sera from cattle Nellore, aged 15 months to 10 years, collected from November 2009 to February 2012, representing three successive breeding seasons. The determination of the presence of anti-N. caninum will be made by Immunofluorescence Assay (IFA), considering a cut-off point of 1:200. The results will be analyzed for association between seropositivity for N. caninum and the occurrence of abortion in animals.(AU)