AUTHOR=Gondim Luís F. Pita , McAllister Milton M. 

TITLE=Experimental Neospora caninum Infection in Pregnant Cattle: Different Outcomes Between Inoculation With Tachyzoites and Oocysts

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.911015

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2022.911015

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Neospora caninum</italic> is a globally distributed abortifacient protozoan of cattle. Experimental infections with <italic>N. caninum</italic> in cattle have provided valuable information on host-parasite interaction and immunopathogenesis. Experimental infection of pregnant cows has been reported in about 20 articles, with most studies using cultured parasite tachyzoites as the inoculum. Only three experimental studies have been conducted in pregnant cows using the parasite's oocysts which are shed by dogs, in large part because transmission experiments using oocysts take more time and are more complex and expensive than experiments using tachyzoites. In this minireview, we discuss differences between <italic>N. caninum</italic> tachyzoites and oocysts as inocula for experimental infection of pregnant cows, as well as the route animals are inoculated.</p>