Molecular investigation of Neospora caninum in sheep and goats slaughtered in Kashan slaughterhouse

Document Type : Short Communication

Authors

1 Department of Parasitology & Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.

2 Department of Parasitology & Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.

3 Department of Statistic, Faculty of Public health, Kashan , University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.

4 Department of Parasitology & Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran

Abstract

Introduction and Objective: Neosporosis is one of the most important animal diseases worldwide which causes abortion in animals especially cows. Cows and small ruminants such as sheep and goats are the most intermediate hosts of the parasite. Due to limited information about Neospora caninum infection in small ruminants, the present cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate infection with the parasite in sheep and goats slaughtered in Kashan industrial slaughterhouse in 2015-2016 using molecular methods. Methods: Heart samples of one hundred and eighty animals including 90 sheep and 90 goats were collected. First, DNAs were extracted from the heart tissue, and then PCR was performed using primers Np21plus and. Samples were assigned as positive upon observation of a 350 base pair band. Animal data and PCR results were recorded in SPSS.16 and were analyzed by Chi-Square and Fischer tests. Results: Neospora caninum DNA was detected in 13 heart samples of animals (7.2 %). The prevalence of infection in sheep and goats was 7.8% and 6.7%, respectively. The odds ratio of Neospora caninum infection in sheep was 1.18 compared to goats. The highest rate of Neospora caninum infection in small ruminants was observed in winter which was 17.8%, whereas no infection was seen in autumn (P=0.003). The rate of infection was significantly higher in the female animals (P=0.04). Conclusion: The prevalence of Neospora caninum in small ruminants in Kashan was relatively low compared to other places in the world as well as the average estimation in Iran. However, health education of farmers and livestock producers is recommended to control and improve the conditions of animal husbandry in order to prevent the disease.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 02 June 2024
  • Revise Date: 28 July 2024
  • Accept Date: 29 July 2024

Share

How to cite

Statistics