Abstract
In this study, transplacental transmission of Neospora caninum in bitches at different stages of pregnancy was evaluated. Three bitches were inoculated in the 3rd week and three in the 6th week of gestation with 10(8) tachyzoites of N. caninum (Nc-1 strain). All the infected bitches and at least one of their offspring presented anti-N. caninum antibodies according to the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT > 400). The pups and their mothers were sacrificed and tissues from the central nervous system (CNS), popliteal lymph nodes, skeletal muscle, brain, lungs, heart and liver were analyzed for the presence of N. caninum using the nested polymerase chain reaction (nested PCR), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The parasite was found in the pups in lymph node, CNS, heart and liver tissues using nested PCR. There was no difference in perinatal mortality between the offspring from bitches infected in the 3rd week of gestation (60%) and in the 6th week (53.8%).
Highlights
Neospora caninum is a protozoan parasite of domestic and wild animals
Because of the great scarcity of reports showing transplacental transmission of N. caninum in dogs, we present the results from a study that aimed to determine occurrences of transplacental transmission in bitches at different stages of pregnancy
Perinatal mortality of 60% (6/10) of the offspring from the bitches infected in the 3rd week of gestation was observed, and the deaths occurred up to 48 hours after birth
Summary
Coyotes and dogs are the definitive hosts of the parasite. It is not completely understood how dogs are infected with N. caninum in nature. N. caninum in pregnant bitches transmission has been demonstrated (DUBEY; LINDSAY, 1989; DUBEY, 1992; COLE et al, 1995; DUBEY et al, 2007). In most cases of neonatal neosporosis, clinical signs are not apparent until 5 to 7 weeks after birth, suggesting that N. caninum is transmitted from the dam to the neonates postnatally through ingestion of milk or at the terminal stages of gestation (DUBEY; LINDSAY, 1996; DUBEY et al, 2007)
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