Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum in Goats in Gevas District of Van

Abstract

Neospora caninum is recognized worldwide as one of the most important abortive pathogens in cattle. Although abortion cases are also recorded in sheep and goats, information and epidemiological data on neosporosis in goats are insufficient. In Türkiye, neosporosis in goats has been serologically detected in Adana, Antalya, Ankara, Burdur, Elazig, Erzurum, Kirsehir, Kirikkale, Kilis, Konya, Nigde, Sanliurfa, Ordu and Osmaniye provinces. To the best of our knowledge, there are no studies detecting N. caninum in goats living in Van province. For this reason, in this study, it was aimed to determine the seroprevalence of N. caninum in goats bred in Gevas district of Van. For this purpose, 368 sera were collected from goats of different ages and sexes from 15 villages of Gevas. A commercially cELISA was used to detect specific anti-N. caninum antibodies in the serum samples. Only one of the examined goats (0.27%) was seropositive for neosporosis. It was determined that the positive sample was over 4 years old and had abortion history. In conclusion, the presence and seroprevalence of N. caninum infection in the goat population in the Gevas region of Van province, a region where this protozoon has not been adequately investigated, was revealed for the first report with this study.