Congenital transmission of Neospora caninum in wild ungulates and foxes

Stefania Zanet; Manuela Poncina; Ezio Ferroglio

doi:10.3389/fvets.2023.1109986

Congenital transmission of Neospora caninum in wild ungulates and foxes

Front Vet Sci. 2023 Feb 6:10:1109986. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1109986. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Stefania Zanet¹, Manuela Poncina¹, Ezio Ferroglio¹

Affiliation

¹ Department Veterinary Sciences, Università degli Studi di Torino, Turin, Italy.

Abstract

Introduction: Neospora caninum is one of the main causes of abortion in cattle. In wildlife, the occurrence and relevance of vertical infection have not been yet clearly evaluated. The aim of this study was to verify the possibility of vertical transmission of N. caninum in three wild species extensively distributed in Europe, namely roe deer Capreolus capreolus, wild boar Sus scrofa and red fox Vulpes vulpes.

Methods: A total of 190 fetuses (72 wild boars, 67 foxes and 51 roe deer) from 61 females were included in the study. All animals, which were either found dead or culled within selective control plans in North-western Italy, were tested, in parallel by PCR on central nervous system, skeletal muscle and kidney.

Results and discussion: The efficiency of vertical transmission in the three target species was of 87.5% (95% CI 69.00-95.66).

Keywords: Neospora caninum; red fox; roe deer; vertical transmission; wild boar.

Grants and funding

This study was partially funded by the Piemonte Regional Administration (Convenzione tra la Regione Piemonte e il Dip. di Scienze Veterinarie dell'Università degli Studi di Torino per la razionalizzazione ed integrazione delle attività di raccolta e smaltimento degli animali selvatici morti o oggetto di interventi di contenimento).