Seroprevalence of Sarcocystis spp., Neospora spp. and Besnoitia spp. in horses (Equus caballus) intended for slaughter in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Abstract: The study aimed to assess the prevalence of horses reactive to Sarcocystis neurona, Neospora caninum, and Besnoitia besnoiti in horses from the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Sera reactivity was tested by the Immunofluorescent Antibody Test (IFAT) in 354 equids sampled at slaughter, using a cut-off of 1:80 for S. neurona and 1:50 for N. caninum and B. besnoiti. Detection of N. caninum was attempted by PCR and bioassay in gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) using brain samples collected from seropositive horses. Sera from 158 horses (44.63 %) (158/354; CI: 39.54-49.84 %) reacted to S. neurona antigen, while 33 (9.32 %) (33/354; IC: 6.71-12.80 %) were reactive to N. caninum. Sera from 12 horses (3.38 %) were positive to N. caninum and S. neurona, 5 horses (1.41 %) were positive to S. neurona and B. besnoiti and 3 horses (0.84 %) were positive to B. besnoiti and N. caninum. None of the samples positive to B. besnoiti by the IFAT was confirmed by Western blot. Equine brain samples from horses seropositive to N. caninum were negative by PCR and bioassay in gerbils.
Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2025-11-12 PubMed ID: 41354534DOI: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2025.101377Google 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
Cite This Article
APA
de Oliveira UV, Waap H, Gomes J, da Silva AN, Lacerda LC, da Silva Oliveira Costa T, de Sousa Lima T, Schares G, Pinheiro AM, Gondim LFP, Munhoz AD.
(2025).
Seroprevalence of Sarcocystis spp., Neospora spp. and Besnoitia spp. in horses (Equus caballus) intended for slaughter in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports, 66, 101377.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vprsr.2025.101377 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Universidade Estadual do Ceará, BR-020 - Bezerra de Sousa, Tauá, CE 63660-000, Brazil. Electronic address: uilliansvolkart@gmail.com.
- Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Oeiras, Portugal; CIISA, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica 1300-477, Lisboa, Portugal.
- Escola Superior Agrária de Elvas, Edificio Quartel do trem, Avenida 14 de janeiro, n°21, 7350-092 Elvas, Portugal.
- Faculdade de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, BR-101, Itamaraju, Bahia 45836-000, Brazil.
- Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Bahia, Ilhéus, Brazil.
- Universidade Estadual do Ceará, BR-020 - Bezerra de Sousa, Tauá, CE 63660-000, Brazil.
- Universidade Estadual do Ceará, BR-020 - Bezerra de Sousa, Tauá, CE 63660-000, Brazil.
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Institute of Epidemiology, 17493 Greifswald, Insel Riems, Germany.
- Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Biológicas e ambientais, Universidade Federal do Recôncavo Baiano, Cruz das Almas, Bahia, Brazil.
- Departamento de Anatomia, Patologia e Clínicas Veterinárias, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
- Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Bahia, Ilhéus, Brazil.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Brazil / epidemiology
- Horses
- Seroepidemiologic Studies
- Sarcocystosis / veterinary
- Sarcocystosis / epidemiology
- Sarcocystosis / parasitology
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / parasitology
- Coccidiosis / veterinary
- Coccidiosis / epidemiology
- Coccidiosis / parasitology
- Neospora / isolation & purification
- Neospora / immunology
- Sarcocystis / isolation & purification
- Sarcocystis / immunology
- Antibodies, Protozoan / blood
- Abattoirs
- Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / veterinary
- Sarcocystidae / isolation & purification
- Male
Conflict of Interest Statement
Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Citations
This article has been cited 0 times.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
