Prevalence of antibodies to Neospora caninum, Sarcocystis neurona, and Toxoplasma gondii in wild horses from central Wyoming.
Abstract: Sarcocystis neurona, Neospora caninum, N. hughesi, and Toxoplasma gondii are 4 related coccidians considered to be associated with encephalomyelitis in horses. The source of infection for N. hughesi is unknown, whereas opossums, dogs, and cats are the definitive hosts for S. neurona, N. caninum, and T. gondii, respectively. Seroprevalence of these coccidians in 276 wild horses from central Wyoming outside the known range of the opossum (Didelphis virginiana) was determined. Antibodies to T. gondii were found only in 1 of 276 horses tested with the modified agglutination test using 1:25, 1:50, and 1:500 dilutions. Antibodies to N. caninum were found in 86 (31.1%) of the 276 horses tested with the Neospora agglutination test--the titers were 1:25 in 38 horses, 1:50 in 15, 1:100 in 9, 1:200 in 8, 1:400 in 4, 1:800 in 2, 1:1,600 in 2, 1:3,200 in 2, and 1:12,800 in 1. Antibodies to S. neurona were assessed with the serum immunoblot; of 276 horses tested, 18 had antibodies considered specific for S. neurona. Antibodies to S. neurona also were assessed with the S. neurona direct agglutination test (SAT). Thirty-nine of 265 horses tested had SAT antibodies--in titers of 1:50 in 26 horses and 1:100 in 13. The presence of S. neurona antibodies in horses in central Wyoming suggests that either there is cross-reactivity between S. neurona and some other infection or a definitive host other than opossum is the source of infection. In a retrospective study, S. neurona antibodies were not found by immunoblot in the sera of 243 horses from western Canada outside the range of D. virginiana.
Publication Date: 2003-10-10 PubMed ID: 14533680DOI: 10.1645/GE-66RGoogle Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
The research article primarily focuses on the investigation of antibodies prevalence in wild horses towards four kinds of coccidians parasites – Sarcocystis neurona, Neospora caninum, N. hughesi, and Toxoplasma gondii, are potentially associated with encephalomyelitis in horses.
Objective and Methodology of the Research
- From central Wyoming outside opossum’s range (Didelphis virginiana), researchers investigated 276 wild horses for the prevalence of antibodies for T. gondii, N. caninum, and S. neurona in horses’ bloodstream.
- Investigation Technique: The detection of antibodies was carried out by Modified Agglutination Test for T. gondii and Neospora Agglutination test for N. caninum and Serum Immunoblot and S. neurona direct Agglutination Test (SAT) for S. neurona.
Key Findings of the Research
- For T. gondii, antibodies were detected only in 1 out of 276 horses with dilutions of 1:25, 1:50, and 1:500.
- For N. caninum, antibodies were found in 86 (31.1%) of the 276 horses with various titers- maximum at 1:25 and minimum at 1:12,800.
- For S. neurona, antibodies were detected in 18 horses by Serum Immunoblot and in 39 horses by using the S. neurona direct Agglutination Test (SAT) with varying titers- maximum at 1:50 and minimum at 1:100.
- Further investigation suggested that the detected S. neurona antibodies in horses indicates either cross-reactivity with another infection or the source of infection being a definitive host other than opossum as prescibed in the existing theories.
Retrospective Study Outcomes
- A retrospective study on sera from 243 horses in western Canada (outside D. virginiana’s range), no S. neurona antibodies were detected with Immunoblot.
- This finding further reinforces the doubts regarding the association of S. neurona infection and opossums and hints towards the possibility of other definitive hosts or cross-reacting infections.
Cite This Article
APA
Dubey JP, Mitchell SM, Morrow JK, Rhyan JC, Stewart LM, Granstrom DE, Romand S, Thulliez P, Saville WJ, Lindsay DS.
(2003).
Prevalence of antibodies to Neospora caninum, Sarcocystis neurona, and Toxoplasma gondii in wild horses from central Wyoming.
J Parasitol, 89(4), 716-720.
https://doi.org/10.1645/GE-66R Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Animal and Natural Resources Institute, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Building 1001, Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2350, USA. jdubey@anri.barc.usda.gov
MeSH Terms
- Agglutination Tests / veterinary
- Animals
- Antibodies, Protozoan / blood
- Coccidiosis / epidemiology
- Coccidiosis / veterinary
- Female
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / immunology
- Horses
- Male
- Manitoba / epidemiology
- Neospora / immunology
- Sarcocystis / immunology
- Sarcocystosis / epidemiology
- Sarcocystosis / veterinary
- Saskatchewan / epidemiology
- Seroepidemiologic Studies
- Toxoplasma / immunology
- Toxoplasmosis, Animal / epidemiology
- Wyoming / epidemiology
Citations
This article has been cited 15 times.- Harvey AM, Ramp D, Mellor DJ. Review of the Foundational Knowledge Required for Assessing Horse Welfare.. Animals (Basel) 2022 Dec 1;12(23).
- Gomes FA, Jansen AM, Machado RZ, Jesus Pena HF, Fumagalli MJ, Silva A, Alves BF, Roque ALR, Moraes Figueiredo LT. Serological evidence of arboviruses and coccidia infecting horses in the Amazonian region of Brazil.. PLoS One 2019;14(12):e0225895.
- Schale S, Howe D, Yeargan M, Morrow JK, Graves A, Johnson AL. Protozoal coinfection in horses with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis in the eastern United States.. J Vet Intern Med 2018 May;32(3):1210-1214.
- Zhou M, Cao S, Sevinc F, Sevinc M, Ceylan O, Liu M, Wang G, Moumouni PF, Jirapattharasate C, Suzuki H, Nishikawa Y, Xuan X. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays using recombinant TgSAG2 and NcSAG1 to detect Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum-specific antibodies in domestic animals in Turkey.. J Vet Med Sci 2017 Jan 10;78(12):1877-1881.
- Reed SM, Furr M, Howe DK, Johnson AL, MacKay RJ, Morrow JK, Pusterla N, Witonsky S. Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis: An Updated Consensus Statement with a Focus on Parasite Biology, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention.. J Vet Intern Med 2016 Mar-Apr;30(2):491-502.
- Dubey JP, Howe DK, Furr M, Saville WJ, Marsh AE, Reed SM, Grigg ME. An update on Sarcocystis neurona infections in animals and equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM).. Vet Parasitol 2015 Apr 15;209(1-2):1-42.
- Bayani M, Kalantari N, Sharbatdaran M, Abedian Z, Ghaffari S. Demonstration of Sarcocystis-like Parasites Found in Peripheral Blood.. Int J Mol Cell Med 2014 Summer;3(3):203-6.
- Yeargan MR, Alvarado-Esquivel C, Dubey JP, Howe DK. Prevalence of antibodies to Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi in horses from Mexico.. Parasite 2013;20:29.
- Hosseini M, Moraveji M, Tahamtan Y, Rahimian A, Mohammadi G, Namavari M. Seroprevalence of Neospora spp. in Horses in North East of Iran.. Iran J Parasitol 2011 Jun;6(2):64-8.
- Boughattas S, Bergaoui R, Essid R, Aoun K, Bouratbine A. Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among horses in Tunisia.. Parasit Vectors 2011 Nov 22;4:218.
- Bártová E, Sedlák K, Syrová M, Literák I. Neospora spp. and Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in horses in the Czech Republic.. Parasitol Res 2010 Sep;107(4):783-5.
- Wobeser BK, Godson DL, Rejmanek D, Dowling P. Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis caused by Neospora hughesi in an adult horse in Saskatchewan.. Can Vet J 2009 Aug;50(8):851-3.
- Veronesi F, Diaferia M, Mandara MT, Marenzoni ML, Cittadini F, Piergili Fioretti D. Neospora spp. infection associated with equine abortion and/or stillbirth rate.. Vet Res Commun 2008 Sep;32 Suppl 1:S223-6.
- Dubey JP, Schares G, Ortega-Mora LM. Epidemiology and control of neosporosis and Neospora caninum.. Clin Microbiol Rev 2007 Apr;20(2):323-67.
- Hoane JS, Morrow JK, Saville WJ, Dubey JP, Granstrom DE, Howe DK. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for detection of equine antibodies specific to Sarcocystis neurona surface antigens.. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 2005 Sep;12(9):1050-6.
Use Nutrition Calculator
Check if your horse's diet meets their nutrition requirements with our easy-to-use tool Check your horse's diet with our easy-to-use tool
Talk to a Nutritionist
Discuss your horse's feeding plan with our experts over a free phone consultation Discuss your horse's diet over a phone consultation
Submit Diet Evaluation
Get a customized feeding plan for your horse formulated by our equine nutritionists Get a custom feeding plan formulated by our nutritionists
