Serology for Neosporosis, Q fever and Brucellosis to assess the cause of abortion in two dairy cattle herds in Ecuador

BMC Vet Res. 2019 Jun 11;15(1):194. doi: 10.1186/s12917-019-1924-7.

Abstract

Background: Determining the infectious cause of abortion in cattle is difficult. This case-control study was set up to investigate the infectious causes of abortion by determining the seroprevalence of three reproductive pathogens in dairy cattle in Ecuador and their association with abortion: Brucella abortus, Neospora caninum and Coxiella burnetii.

Results: Ninety-five blood samples were obtained from cows that had experienced a mid- or late gestation abortion of their first calf and seventy-seven samples from a control group of cows with the same age that did not experience abortion problems. No antibodies were detected for B. abortus in any of the serum samples, but a high seroprevalence for both C. burnetii (52.9%) and N. caninum infection (21.5%) was found in group of cows. The seroprevalence of N. caninum infection in cattle that had experienced abortions was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the seroprevalence in the control cows on one of the cattle farms, but no association between abortion and seropositivity for C. burnetii was found.

Conclusion: We conclude that Neosporosis plays an important role in the epidemiology of abortion on one cattle farm, but that Q fever is apparently not an important cause for abortion in this setting.

Keywords: Brucella; Brucellosis; Cattle; Coxiella; Ecuador; Neospora; Neosporosis; Q fever.

MeSH terms

  • Abortion, Veterinary / epidemiology*
  • Abortion, Veterinary / microbiology
  • Abortion, Veterinary / parasitology
  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / blood
  • Antibodies, Protozoan / blood
  • Brucella abortus / immunology
  • Brucellosis, Bovine / epidemiology
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cattle
  • Cattle Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Cattle Diseases / microbiology
  • Cattle Diseases / parasitology
  • Coccidiosis / epidemiology
  • Coccidiosis / veterinary*
  • Coxiella burnetii / immunology
  • Dairying
  • Ecuador / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Neospora / immunology
  • Pregnancy
  • Q Fever / epidemiology
  • Q Fever / veterinary*
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • Antibodies, Protozoan