title: Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with exposure of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) to Neospora caninum in northeast Thailand.
abstract: Water buffalo are important draft animals for agriculture in resource-restricted areas worldwide. Water buffalo were shown to be experimentally susceptible to infection with Neospora caninum, potentially affected by neosporosis, and naturally exposed to the parasite in Asia. Although enzootic to Thailand, the distribution of N. caninum among Thai water buffalo is unclear. The objectives of this study were to determine the seroprevalence of N. caninum among water buffalo of northeast Thailand and to identify risk factors associated with their exposure to N. caninum. Sera from 628 water buffalo from 288 farms were tested with an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). A total of 57 samples from 48 herds contained antibodies to N. caninum, indicating overall seroprevalence of 9.1% and 16.7% among individual animals and herds, respectively. The overall seroprevalence was highest in provinces located in the Khorat Basin in the southern part of the region tested. Host age was also associated with seroprevalence, with the greatest seroprevalence (16.1%) among buffalo over 10 years of age, followed by 5-10 years of age (13.4%), 3-5 years (9.2%), and less than 3 years (1.2%). These results collectively suggested that horizontal transmission from canine definitive hosts was an important route of water buffalo exposure to N. caninum. These results also verified the importance of risk factor analysis for effective bovine neosporosis control strategies at the local level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Chanya
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kengradomkij
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Tawin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inpankaew
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Ketsarin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kamyingkird
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Natural Resource and Agro-Industry, Chalermphrakiat Sakon Nakhon Province Campus, Kasetsart University, Thailand.
authors.forename: Kannika
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wongpanit
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Diagnostic Services, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Sirichai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wongnakphet
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Laboratories, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, 3 Baron-Hay Court, South Perth, Western Australia 6151, Australia.
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Nishi 2-13, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Xuenan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xuan
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Nishi 2-13, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Ikuo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Igarashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand. Electronic address: fvetspj@ku.ac.th.
authors.forename: Sathaporn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jittapalapong
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, 201 Connaway Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
authors.forename: Roger W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Stich
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D002020:Buffaloes / Q000469:parasitology*; D003048:Coccidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D018688:Neospora / Q000276:immunology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan
keywords: IFAT; Neospora caninum; Neosporosis; Seroprevalence; Thailand; Water buffalo