Neospora caninum Infection in Rodents: A Molecular Study in Dairy Cattle Farms in Arak, Iran

Neospora caninum is an apicomplexan protozoa which is an important cause of abortion and economic loss in dairy and beef industries. This parasite has an indirect prey-predator lifecycle, which provides an opportunity for domestic and wild species to play a role in the lifecycle of N. caninum. Ongoing research is being conducted to ascertain the involvement of other vertebrates in the epidemiology and transmission of this parasite. Rodents are abundant in many habitats, including livestock farms, and their role in the maintenance and spread of N. caninum remains unresolved. In this study the plausible role of feral rodents in the transmission of Neospora caninum, was investigated in wild rodents captured from several dairy farms with a history of abortion and neosporosis in Arak city, Iran. During the study, rodent samples were collected from ۱۴ farms with high abortion rate. All the trapped rodents were identified as Mus musculus. The rodents were necropsied and the brain samples were tested by Nested-PCR. no N. caninum was detected in any of the samples. Some research findings have identified the liver as the most suitable organ for detecting Neospora in rodents, while other studies suggest that brain or heart samples may be more appropriate. The results of the present study could not reinforce the role of on-farm rodents in the studied environment. In order to surpass the limitations on experiment parameters, it is recommended to incorporate multiple diagnostic and confirmatory techniques on different organs, alongside a more extensive sampling approach that encompasses a wider range of rodent species.

Keywords:

Neospora caninum , Dairy cattle , Abortion , Nested-PCR , Mus musculus