title: Prevalence of antibodies against Neospora spp. and Sarcocystis neurona in donkeys from northeastern Brazil.
abstract: Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi are coccidian protozoa that can cause neurological illness in horses in America. In this study we report seroprevalence of Neospora spp. andS. neurona in sera of 333 donkeys from the northeastern region of Brazil. Antibodies to Neospora spp. were detected in 2% (7 donkeys) of 333 sera tested by the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) with a cut-off dilution of 1:40. Antibodies to S. neurona were found in 3% (10 donkeys) of the samples tested by IFAT (cut-off ≥50) and 21% (69 donkeys) by the direct agglutination test (SAT ≥50). The SAT and IFAT results for S. neurona showed a poor concordance (value of Kappa=0.051). This is the first report of Neospora spp. antibodies in Brazilian donkeys and the first detection of antibodies against S. neurona in this animal species.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Solange Maria
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Gennari
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Hilda Fátima de Jesus
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Pena
authors.affiliation: Center for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
authors.forename: David Scott
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Lindsay
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Marcos Gomes
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Herbert Sousa
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Aline Diniz
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Cabral
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Sérgio Netto
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Vitaliano
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amaku
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003048:Coccidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D018397:Equidae / Q000276:immunology*; D051556:Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal / Q000662:veterinary; D018688:Neospora / Q000276:immunology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012522:Sarcocystis / Q000276:immunology*; D012523:Sarcocystosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan