Abstract
The objective of the present study was to investigate the epidemiology of natural infection by N. caninum in free-range chickens from Aguascalientes, Mexico, through identifying the presence of antibodies, its association with certain risk factors, and estimate the frequency of parasite DNA detection in the brain. The study included 150 clinically healthy chickens from 81 small family farms distributed throughout the state, from which blood and brain samples were taken. Serum samples were processed by indirect immunofluorescence considering a dilution of 1:50 as a positive reaction, while the DNA detection was done by PCR; the association between the presence of antibodies and the potential risk factors was estimated through logistic regression. The general anti-N. caninum presence of antibodies in the studied population was 46% (69/150, CI 95% 38–54), with titers of 1:50 in 38, 1:100 in 24, and 1:200 in 7, finding positive cases in 49% of the farms and in 91% of the municipalities that integrate the state. The presence of antibodies found in the municipalities was estimated in a range of 20 to 75%. The frequency of DNA detection was 6% (9/150, CI 95% 2–11). The grain supplementation was identified as the unique risk factor for infection (OR = 2.82; 95% CI, 1.18–6.73, p < 0.019).
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the farm owners for their collaboration.
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This work was supported by the Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico El Llano Aguascalientes through internal research grant SN/2020.
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Conceptualization: J.H.R., and C.C.V.; methodology: J.H.R., C.C.V., I.V.M., and L.M.E.; formal analysis: J.H.R., C.C.V., J.F.G.L., and A.V.F.; writing-original draft preparation: J.H.R., and A.G.; writing-review and editing J.H.R., C.C.V., and A.V.F. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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The Committee on the Use and Care of Animals of the Instituto Tecnológico El Llano Aguascalientes and the farm owners approved this project (ITEL-CUCA 011/20).
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Section Editor: Sutherland Maciver
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Hernández-Rangel, J., Cruz-Vázquez, C., Vitela-Mendoza, I. et al. Epidemiology of Neospora caninum infection in free-range chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) in north central Mexico. Parasitol Res 120, 3581–3586 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07302-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07302-9