Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum infection in dairy and beef cattle in Spain

In recent years, neosporosis has been identified as a major cause of aborti on in dairy and beef cattle. Although the disease has been described worldw ide, there is a lack of information concerning the prevalence of this infec tion in different cattle production systems. The aim of this study was to i nvestigate the seroprevalence of Neospora caninum infection in a representa tive area of beef and dairy cattle production in Spain. A cross-sectional s tudy was undertaken in which herds constituted the initial sampling unit an d two strata (dairy and beef herds) were considered. Using a 95% level of c onfidence and setting 5% (beef) and 5.4% (dairy) error limits, 216 beef and 143 dairy herds were randomly selected and sampled. Nine animals (> 1 year old) were randomly sampled in each herd to detect the presence of the infe ction. A herd was considered infected when at least one animal was seroposi tive. In total, serum samples from 1121 dairy and 1712 beef animals were co llected and tested for specific anti-N. caninum IgG using an ELISA. Specifi c antibodies were detected in 55.1% (119/216) beef and 83.2% (119/143) dair y herds. Individual prevalences obtained were 17.9% (306/1712) for beef and 35.9% (402/1121) for dairy animals. Presence of N. caninum infection was h igher in dairy than in beef herds and the association between infection and the cattle production system (dairy or beef) was statistically significant [chi(Y)(2) = 29.21, P < 0.001, OR = 4.04 (2.35-6.99)]. Herd size of dairy cattle did not appear to be associated with N. caninum infection. On the co ntrary, infection was associated with herd size in beef cattle (chi(2) = 12 .79, P < 0.01). Finally, no association was found between replacement or pa sture management and infection in beef herds. (C) 1999 Australian Society f or Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved .