Korean J Parasitol.  2012 Mar;50(1):63-67. 10.3347/kjp.2012.50.1.63.

Congenital Neosporosis in Goats from the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

• Varaschin
• Hirsch C
• Wouters F
• Nakagaki K
• Guimaraes
• Santos DS
• Bezerra PS
• Costa RC
• Peconick A
• Langohr IM

• KMID: 1364897
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2012.50.1.63

Abstract

Congenital Neospora caninum infection was diagnosed in two Saanen goat kids from two distinct herds with a history of abortion and weak newborn goat kids in the Southern region of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The first kid was weak at birth, had difficulty to rise and was unable to nurse. Gross lesions of porencephaly and hydrocephalus ex vacuo were seen. Multifocal necrosis, gliosis and non-supurative encephalitis were observed in the brain. Several parasitic cysts with a thick wall that reacted strongly only with polyclonal antiserum to Neospora caninum were seen in the cerebral cortex, brain stem and cerebellum. The second kid was born from a Neospora caninum seropositive mother that aborted in the last pregnancy. It was born without clinical signs. The diagnosis of neosporosis was based on antibody titer of 1:800 to N. caninum by indirect fluorescence antibody test obtained from blood collected before the goat kid ingested the colostrum and Neospora caninum DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced from placenta. This is the first report of neosporosis in goats in the southeast region of Brazil.

Keyword

Neospora caninum; histopathology; goat; parasitic infection

MeSH Terms

Animals
Antibodies, Protozoan/immunology
Brazil
Coccidiosis/congenital/immunology/parasitology/*veterinary
Female
Goat Diseases/congenital/immunology/*parasitology
Goats
Molecular Sequence Data
Neospora/genetics/immunology/*isolation & purification/physiology
Pregnancy