Fate of Neospora-seropositive animals: an opinion

Neospora caninum is an abortive protozoon in cattle, which causes severe economic losses worldwide. Chronically infected cattle however develop immune responses protecting against further Neospora induced abortions. Controversy about losses other than abortion in Neospora-infected cattle still exists. Although, culling of seropositive animals has been recommended as a strategy for reducing economic losses due to N. caninum, there is no guarantee of escaping postnatal infection and abortion storms by having a "Neospora-sterile herd". An inactivated vaccine has been demonstrated to reduce abortion rates. Antibodies generated by natural infection can not presently be differentiated from those induced by vaccination; however, since maternal antibodies disappear by 6 months in calves born to vaccinated heifers, a test-and cull strategy could be performed in replacement heifers before breeding and vaccination. This review article discusses control strategies for Neospora-infection in cattle, and provides suggestions for further research.Neospora caninum es un protozoo que causa abortos en los bovinos produciendo importantes pérdidas económicas en todo el mundo. Existe evidencia reciente que demuestra que los bovinos infectados en forma crónica desarrollan mecanismos inmunes de protección contra el aborto causado por N. caninum. Por otro lado, la existencia de otras pérdidas económicas distintas del aborto es aún tema de controversia. Aunque la eliminación de bovinos seropositivos a la enfermedad a sido recomendado como medida de control sanitaria, un rodeo libre de infección no está exento de sufrir una exposición postnatal y "tormentas" de abortos. La utilización de una vacuna inactivada disminuye la tasa de abortos; sin embargo los anticuerpos vacunales no pueden ser diferenciados de aquellos producidos por infecciones naturales. Considerando que los anticuerpos maternos desaparecen a los 6 meses de vida, la serología de terneras de reemplazo antes del servicio y la vacunación podría ser una posible estrategia de control. Este artículo discute las estrategias de control para limitar la difusión de la neosporosis en bovinos y brinda posibles líneas de investigación.EEA BalcarceFil: Moore, Dadín Prando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentina

Editorial: Infectious diseases affecting reproduction and the neonatal period in cattle

Even with the global scenario after the SARS CoV-2 pandemic, human population keeps growing, and therefore food safety and quality demand is increasing. So, it is required to improve the efficiency in most livestock production systems including the cattle industry. Because the efficiency of cattle industry is far away from optimum (1–3), the intensification of the production systems emerges as a challenge. Currently, over 1 billion heads are raised in our planet. Countries like Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, and United States extensively raise their cattle on pastures, which represents over 50% of the productive cattle stock worldwide.EEA BalcarceFil: Moore, Prando Dadin. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible; Argentina.Fil: Moore, Prando Dadin. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Cantón, Germán José. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina.Fil: Louge Uriarte, Enrique Leopoldo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina

Editorial: Infectious Diseases Affecting Reproduction and the Neonatal Period in Cattle

Editorial on the Research TopicEven with the global scenario after the SARS CoV-2 pandemic, human population keeps growing, and therefore food safety and quality demand is increasing. So, it is required to improve the efficiency in most livestock production systems including the cattle industry. Because the efficiency of cattle industry is far away from optimum (1?3), the intensification of the production systems emerges as a challenge. Currently, over 1 billion heads are raised in our planet. Countries like Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, and United States extensively raise their cattle on pastures, which represents over 50% of the productive cattle stock worldwide. The main objective of cow-calf systems is to produce the largest quantity of calves per bred cow. Nevertheless, top beef producing countries in some cases achieve only above 50% of weaning rate. Common causes of this low weaning rate usually occur during the breeding season. In this period, cows are usually under suboptimal body condition, exposed to environmental stress and/or infectious diseases, and therefore low pregnancy rates are recorded. The diagnosis of the cause of this early reproductive failure is challenging, unless they are related with infectious diseases. Many research articles reports abortion and perinatal mortality varying from 5 to 12% and 2 to 5%, respectively (4?8) representing a huge loss of calves. During the period from pregnancy diagnosis to calf delivery, the efficiency of detecting the aetiological agents or diseases is still below 50% even though several studies and experimental models on this topic have been developed.Fil: Moore, Dadin Prando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Innovación Para la Producción Agropecuaria y El Desarrollo Sostenible. - Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur. Estacion Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Instituto de Innovación Para la Producción Agropecuaria y El Desarrollo Sostenible.; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Cantón, Germán J.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Departamento de Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Louge Uriarte, Enrique Leopoldo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Departamento de Producción Animal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Vacas abortadas

La identificación de vientres que perdieron la gestación es dificultosa en las condiciones de los sistemas de producción extensiva. Frecuentemente, estos vientres suelen identificarse una vez que terminan de parir la mayoría de las vacas, muchas veces registradas como “vacas que no presentan ternero” (NPT), siendo que, en el momento del diagnóstico de gestación habían quedado preñadas.EEA BalcarceFil: Cantón, Germán José. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible Balcarce; Argentina.Fil: Fiorentino, María Andrea. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible Balcarce; Argentina.Fil: Louge Uriarte, Enrique. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible Balcarce; Argentina.Fil: Moore, Prando Dadin. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible Balcarce; Argentina

Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum infection in cattle from Pereira, Colombia

There are over 25.6 million cattle heads in Colombia being the fourth-highest herd in Latin America. This study aimed to describe the seroprevalence of Neospora caninum in cattle from 25 rural farms at Pereira municipality, Risaralda Department, which has a total bovine population of 43,508 animals. A cross-sectional observational study was performed in beef and dairy herds during 2017–2018. A total of 325 animals in 25 herds, with 13 animals per herd, were sampled. A commercial competitive ELISA (cELISA) kit was used to detect N. caninum antibodies. Associated risk factors were analyzed in two different levels: individual animals and herds. For all the independent variables, chi-square (χ2) and Fisher tests were used to assess associations and significance. The overall estimated seropositivity was 20.6% (95%CI 16.2%–25.0%). The seroprevalence by herds was 92.0% ranging from 0.0% to 46.2%. Noteworthy, beef herds had significantly (p = 0.0107) higher seropositivity (50% of them above 35% of seropositivity) compared with those for milk purposes (4.8%) (OR = 20.0; 95%CI 1.2–331.0). Other risk factors were not significantly (p ≥ 0.05) associated with N. caninum seropositivity. Bovine neosporosis may be associated with abortions in both beef and dairy Colombian farms. More studies about the epidemiology, associated factors and consequences, as well as on tools for better diagnosis of bovine abortion, including histopathology and other ancillary tests, should be performed.Fil: Idarraga Bedoya, Samuel E.. Fundación Universitaria Autónoma de las Américas. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia; ColombiaFil: Álvarez Chica, Jaime. Fundación Universitaria Autónoma de las Américas. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia; ColombiaFil: Bonilla Aldana, D. Katterine. Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira; Colombia. Fundación Universitaria Autónoma de las Américas; ColombiaFil: Moore, Dadin Prando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez Morales, Alfonso J.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira; Colombia. Fundación Universitaria Autónoma de las Américas; Colombi

Identification of Neospora caninum in aborted bovine fetuses of Southern Chile

The aim of this study was to identify Neospora caninum in histologic sections of brain and optic nerve of aborted bovine fetuses. Sections of these tissues from 296 aborted bovine fetuses from Southern Chile, submitted between 2000 and 2010, to the Instituto de Patología Animal of the Universidad Austral de Chile were analyzed. Forty-four (14.9%) fetuses had microscopic lesions compatible with bovine neosporosis, including gliosis, necrosis, intralesional protozoan cysts and neuritis of optic nerves. N. caninum was identified by immunohistochemistry in brain sections of 27 cases (9.1%) with compatible lesions. Positive immunostaining was also found in the optic nerves of 13 cases (4.4%) with neuritis. N. caninum DNA was identified by PCR in brain sections in 31 cases (10.5%). In total, 36 cases (12.2%) were positive by either technique. Phylogenetic analysis of the ITS1 gene sequence of N. caninum revealed a high degree of conservation among different isolates. This is the first report of N. caninum-associated optic neuritis in cattle and also the first report of confirmed bovine abortion associated with this parasite in Chile.Fil: Moroni, Manuel. Universidad Austral de Chile; ChileFil: Navarro, Mauricio. Universidad Austral de Chile; ChileFil: Paredes, Enrrique. Universidad Austral de Chile; ChileFil: Romero, Alex. Universidad Austral de Chile; ChileFil: Alberdi, Aintzane. Universidad Austral de Chile; ChileFil: Lischinsky, Tania. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Moore, Dadin Prando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Campero, Carlos Manuel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Uzal, Francisco Alejandro. University of California at Davis; Estados Unido

Characterization of Immune Cell Infiltration in the Placentome of Water Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) Infected with Neospora caninum During Pregnancy

Neospora caninum infection in cattle stimulates host immune responses, which may be responsible for placental damage leading to abortion. Susceptibility of water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) to neosporosis is not well understood, although vertical transmission and fetal death have been documented. The aim of this study was to characterize the immune response in the placentome of water buffalo following experimental infection in early gestation with the Nc-1 strain of N. caninum. Placentomes were examined by immunohistochemistry using antibodies specific for T-cell subsets, natural killer cells and CD79αcy cells. Placental inflammation was characterized by the infiltration of CD3+ and CD4+ T cells and T cells expressing the γδ T-cell receptor. The distribution of these cellular subsets in buffalo placentomes was similar to that previously described in cattle infected with N. caninum in early gestation, but the lesions were milder, which may explain the lower number of abortions observed in this species after infection.EEA BalcarceFil: Canton, German Jose. Moredun Research Institute; Reino Unido. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Konrad, Jose Luis. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Moore, Prando Dadin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Caspe, Sergio Gaston. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Mercedes; ArgentinaFil: Palarea-Albaladejo, Javier. Biomathematics & Statistics Scotland; Reino UnidoFil: Campero, Carlos Manuel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Chianini, Francesca. Moredun Research Institute; Reino Unid

A comparative pattern of lectin-binding in the endometrial glands of the uterus and placenta of healthy buffaloes and bovines at early gestation

Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and domestic cattle (Bos taurus) are closely related species. However, embryo transfer interspecies has been attempted without any success. The failure in hybrid embryo-implantation is associated with the glycocode in the maternal-fetal interface. Glycosylation patterns have been studied in different species of ruminants; however, in B. bubalis, only the binucleated cells (BNC) have been analyzed. This glycocode is essential for a successful embryo-implantation and can be defined by Lectin-Histochemistry (LHC). The aim of this study is to compare the glycosylation pattern of placenta and uterus in water buffaloes and cattle by LHC. Tissue samples of placenta and uterus from pregnant Mediterranean female water buffaloes (Buf1) and Angus cows (Bov1) were analyzed. All animals were euthanized at 98 days of gestation. LHC was carried out using twelve lectins (Con A, LCA, PSA, sWGA, PHA-e, SBA, UEA-1, WGA, RCA-1, PNA, DBA, BSA-1). The intensity of lectin binding was semiquantitatively scored using a scale of 0 (negative) to 3 (strongly positive). Difference between species was found in trophoblast layer by PSA, SWGA, PNA and BSA-1, in BNC, and in the mononuclear cells by LCA, PSA, PHA-e, DBA, BSA-1, PNA. In utero, differences in the apical cellular membrane and the secretion of glands were identified by DBA and RCA-1, and in the cytoplasm of those glandular epithelial cells by PHA-e, BSA-1, WGA, and SBA. In both species, BNC presented a strong positive reaction with DBA and SBA, a moderate response by LCA, PHA-e, BSA-1 and PNA lectin, and a low reaction by PSA, UEA-1, SWGA, WGA, Con A and RCA-1. The results found in this study suggest that although both species are closely related, glycosylation patterns in the placenta and uterus are different, thus providing a possible reason for embryo transfer not being possible between these species.EEA MercedesFil: Caspe, Sergio Gaston. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Mercedes; ArgentinaFil: Konrad, Jose Luis. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Moore, Prando Dadin. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Sala, Juan Manuel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Mercedes; ArgentinaFil: Lischinsky, Lilian Haydee. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Campero, Carlos Manuel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Barbeito, Claudio G. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina

Neosporosis bovina en Argentina: a 25 años del primer reporte en el país

La neosporosis es una enfermedad de gran impacto en el ganado vacuno debido a que causa abortos en el segundo y último trimestre de la gestación. En esta revisión se resume y discute la información sobre la misma, recopilada de dos décadas y media de estudios en bovinos de Argentina. Se aportan datos sobre el diagnóstico, la prevalencia y los avances en el estudio de la enfermedad. Está dirigida a los médicos veterinarios dedicados al diagnóstico y a la investigación de la neosporosis y/o a la producción bovina.Neosporosis is a disease with great impact in cattle, responsible for abortions in the second and last trimester of gestation. The present revision summarizes and discusses information from two and a half decades of studies about the disease in cattle from Argentina, contributing data about prevalence, diagnosis and progress in the knowledge of the disease. this report will be of interest for veterinarians specialized in diagnosis and investigation of neosporosis and/or bovine production.EEA RafaelaFil: Campero, Lucía María. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Laboratorio de Inmunoparasitología; ArgentinaFil: Campero, Lucía María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Moore, Prando Dadin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Moore, Prando Dadin. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Echaide, Ignacio Eduardo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela; ArgentinaFil: Campero, Carlos Manuel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Venturini, María C. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Laboratorio de Inmunoparasitología; Argentin

An applied printing immunoassay with recombinant Nc-SAG1 for detection of antibodies to neospora caninum in cattle

Neospora caninum is a protozoan parasite that causes an important reproductive disease in cattle. Neospora caninum surface antigen 1 (Nc-SAG1) is an immunodominant candidate for the development of a diagnostic reagent for neosporosis. The current study describes the development and evaluation of an antigen print immunoassay (APIA) with recombinant Nc-SAG1 for the detection of specific antibodies to N. caninum in cattle. The concordance between APIA and a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was evaluated with 232 serum samples from experimentally and naturally infected cattle. Sixty-one (26.7%) samples were positive for antibodies to N. caninum by ELISA and 58 (25.4%) by APIA. The new assay had a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 96%. These results, along with the potential of APIA to evolve into a multiple antigen detection format, suggest that this method would be a reliable diagnostic test for detection of antibodies to N. caninum in cattle.Fil: Wilkowsky, Silvina Elizabeth. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Gimenez Bareiro, Guillermo. Universidad Nacional de Asunción; ParaguayFil: Mon, Maria Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias Castelar; ArgentinaFil: Moore, Dadin Prando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Agencia de Extensión Rural Balcarce; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Caspe, Gastón. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Campero, Carlos. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Fort, Marcelo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Romano, Maria Isabel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias Castelar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin