Transplacental transmission of Neospora caninum to lambs in successive pregnancies of naturally infected sheep in Southern Brazil

Abstract

This study aims to report the detection of N. caninum DNA in a newborn lamb (1) with neurological signs and congenital neosporosis and in a stillborn lamb (2), both born from the same ewe in a herd of Southern Brazil. The lambs were born during different pregnancies of a Suffolk ewe seropositive to N. caninum and seronegative to T. gondii. Histopathological lesions were observed only in the central nervous system of the lambs. The newborn lamb (1) showed mild and focal gliosis in the frontal lobe. In the hippocampal region of the stillborn lamb (2), lymphoplasmacytic perivascular cuffs and N. caninum cysts were observed in the cytoplasm of neurons and confirmed by IHC. PCR was performed using brain samples to detect the protozoa N. caninum and Toxoplasma gondii. The infection with N. caninum was confirmed in the newborn lamb (1) by PCR and in the stillborn lamb (2) by histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and PCR tests.

Keywords: Congenital infection; Lamb; Neosporosis; Reproductive disorders.