AUTHOR=Zanet Stefania , Poncina Manuela , Ferroglio Ezio 

TITLE=Congenital transmission of Neospora caninum in wild ungulates and foxes

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2023.1109986

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2023.1109986

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p><italic>Neospora caninum</italic> is one of the main causes of abortion in cattle. In wildlife, the occurrence and relevance of vertical infection have not been yet clearly evaluated. The aim of this study was to verify the possibility of vertical transmission of <italic>N. caninum</italic> in three wild species extensively distributed in Europe, namely roe deer <italic>Capreolus capreolus</italic>, wild boar <italic>Sus scrofa</italic> and red fox <italic>Vulpes vulpes</italic>.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>A total of 190 fetuses (72 wild boars, 67 foxes and 51 roe deer) from 61 females were included in the study. All animals, which were either found dead or culled within selective control plans in North-western Italy, were tested, in parallel by PCR on central nervous system, skeletal muscle and kidney.</p></sec><sec><title>Results and discussion</title><p>The efficiency of vertical transmission in the three target species was of 87.5% (95% CI 69.00–95.66).</p></sec>