NEOSPOROSIS-ASSOCIATED BOVINE ABORTION IN PENNSYLVANIA

Neospora caninum was found in fetal tissues of 34 of 688 cases of bovi ne abortion submitted to the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System during the period from May 1994 to November 1996. The aborted fetuses ranged in gestational age from 3 to 8 months. Microscopic lesi ons consisted primarily of encephalitis and myocarditis. A labeled (st rept) avidin-biotin staining procedure using anti-N. caninum polyclona l rabbit serum revealed N. caninum organisms within the fetal brain (2 7 of 27), heart (10 of 13), placenta (5 of 6), kidney (2 of 2), liver (1 of 4) and skeletal muscle (1 of 1). (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.