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Experimental infection of tachyzoites of the NC1 strain of Neosporacaninum in female swine

  • Protozoology - Original Paper
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Abstract

Neospora caninum is a protozoan that can cause reproductive problems in several animal species. Although N. caninum infection has been reported in swine, the pathogenesis and clinical signs are not fully known in this species. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of experimental infection with tachyzoites of the N. caninum strain Nc1 in swine matrices at different stages of gestation. For that purpose, 12 gilts, seronegative for N. caninum and T. gondii, were selected and allocated into four groups of three animals each. Animals in group A were not inoculated (control) and animals in groups B, C, and D were inoculated intravenously with of 2.9 × 107 tachyzoites, 30 days before conception, and at 45 and 90 days of gestation, respectively. Temperature, heart rate, blood, saliva, and vaginal mucus samples from the animals were collected periodically until the time of delivery for the investigation of IgG and IgM antibodies against N. caninum using IFAT and PCR to detect the parasite DNA. All gilts sero-converted from 5 and 7 DPI (days postinoculation) to IgM and IgG, respectively. Two gilts showed hypothermia on the 5th and 7th DPI, and five inoculated animals had leukocytosis on the 7th DPI. It was possible to detect DNA of N. caninum in samples of saliva (33/84), vaginal mucus (17/84), and blood (2/84). Based on serology (IgM) and PCR, three animals in group B showed evidence of reappearance of the infection during pregnancy. It is concluded that N. caninum can cause clinical signs in infected swine females, in addition to indicating saliva as a suitable diagnostic biological material for the detection of N. caninum DNA in this animal species.

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Funding

This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina (FAPESC) – Public call 01/2016 – Granting Agreement 779/2017.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade do Estado de SantaCatarina, Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil

    Alessandra Snak, Schayanne Matos Henrique, Ana Paula Remor Sebolt, José Cristani, Mere Erika Sato, Luiz Claudio Miletti & Anderson Barbosa de Moura

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  1. Alessandra Snak
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  2. Schayanne Matos Henrique
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  3. Ana Paula Remor Sebolt
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  4. José Cristani
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  5. Mere Erika Sato
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  6. Luiz Claudio Miletti
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  7. Anderson Barbosa de Moura
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Correspondence to Alessandra Snak.

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The present study was submitted to the CAV/UDESC Ethics Committee on Animal Use (CEUA), being approved under protocol number 7997170717.

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Snak, A., Henrique, S.M., Sebolt, A.P.R. et al. Experimental infection of tachyzoites of the NC1 strain of Neosporacaninum in female swine. Parasitol Res 120, 1049–1057 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07054-6

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