Review of Neospora caninum and neosporosis in animals

Abstract

Neospora caninum is a coccidian parasite of animals. It is a major pathogen for cattle and dogsand it occasionally causes clinical infections in horses, goats, sheep, and deer. Domestic dogs are the onlyknown definitive hosts for N. caninum. It is one of the most efficiently transmitted parasite of cattle and up to90% of cattle in some herds are infected. Transplacental transmission is considered the major route oftransmission of N. caninum in cattle. Neospora caninum is a major cause of abortion in cattle in manycountries. To elicit protective immunity against abortion in cows that already harbor a latent infection is amajor problem. This paper reviews information on biology, diagnosis, epidemiology and control ofneosporosis in animals.