Affects: Dogs
Neospora caninum is a coccidian parasite that was identified as a species in 1988. Prior to this, it was misclassified as Toxoplasma gondii due to structural similarities. The genome sequence of Neospora caninum has been determined by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the University of Liverpool. Neospora caninum is an important cause of spontaneous abortion in infected livestock.
Treatment And Control: In addition to being an important cause of cattle abortions, neosporosis is a significant disease in dogs throughout the world. If the disease is caught early, dogs may be successfully treated with clindamycin and other antiprotozoan drugs. However, the disease is often fatal to young puppies. Preventative vaccines have been tested on cattle. An inactivated vaccine was made commercially available but had mixed results. A live vaccine using attenuated N. caninum tachyzoites has been more successful but is expensive to produce. Other treatment options aim at prevention of the disease. Prevention requires an understanding of the transmission cycle, especially the connection between cattle and dogs (canids). Canids may pick up the parasite from eating infected material and spread the disease through contaminated feces. One control method is to test for the disease and remove infected cattle from the herd. Another method of control is preventing canids from entering the cattle holding area.