Seroprevalence of antibodies against Neospora caninum in diagnostic equine serum samples and their possible association with fetal loss.

The research study investigates the correlation between the antibodies against Neospora spp. in horses and fetal loss. Although a slight increase in antibody presence was observed in aborting mares, the results didn’t reach statistical significance.

Study Context and Methodology

• The study was a case-control research aimed at investigating a possible association between fetal loss in horses and the presence of serum antibodies against Neospora spp.
• The research was conducted on serum samples that were provided to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory located in the northwestern United States.
• The control group included randomly selected serum from healthy horses that were undergoing regular tests for equine infectious anemia, a necessary step for regulatory health certification.
• On the other hand, the case group included randomly selected serum from mares that had aborted and were submitted for diagnostic analysis.
• The researchers used an indirect fluorescent antibody test to identify the presence of antibodies with a titer of 1:50 or greater.

Study Findings

• The findings of the study showed that 8% of the total 160 control sera tested positive for the antibodies, indicating the presence of Neospora spp.
• Contrastingly, 13% of 140 case sera (from aborting mares) also tested positive for the antibodies against Neospora spp.
• This slight increase in antibody presence in the case group led to an association odds ratio of 1.67. However, this value did not reach a level of statistical significance, with a p-value of 0.124.

Conclusion

• In conclusion, although there was an observed increase in the antibody presence in aborting mares, the odds ratio did not reach a statistically significant value.
• This indicates that further research is needed to conclusively confirm any association between the presence of Neospora spp. antibodies and fetal loss in horses.