Experimental Neospora caninum Infection in Pregnant Cattle: Different Outcomes Between Inoculation With Tachyzoites and Oocysts

Luís F Pita Gondim; Milton M McAllister

doi:10.3389/fvets.2022.911015

Experimental Neospora caninum Infection in Pregnant Cattle: Different Outcomes Between Inoculation With Tachyzoites and Oocysts

Front Vet Sci. 2022 May 17:9:911015. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.911015. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Luís F Pita Gondim¹, Milton M McAllister²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anatomy, Pathology and Veterinary Clinics, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.
² School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

Abstract

Neospora caninum is a globally distributed abortifacient protozoan of cattle. Experimental infections with N. caninum in cattle have provided valuable information on host-parasite interaction and immunopathogenesis. Experimental infection of pregnant cows has been reported in about 20 articles, with most studies using cultured parasite tachyzoites as the inoculum. Only three experimental studies have been conducted in pregnant cows using the parasite's oocysts which are shed by dogs, in large part because transmission experiments using oocysts take more time and are more complex and expensive than experiments using tachyzoites. In this minireview, we discuss differences between N. caninum tachyzoites and oocysts as inocula for experimental infection of pregnant cows, as well as the route animals are inoculated.

Keywords: abortion; bovine; experimental; neosporosis; transplacental transmission.

Publication types

Review