Submitted to: Rocky Mountain Conference of Parasitologists
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: May 30, 1998
Publication Date: N/A
Technical Abstract:
A Nebraska beef herd recently suffered an outbreak of late-term abortions and premature births. Neosporosis was diagnosed based upon histopathology and lack of other etiologic findings. Eleven percent of the cows aborted or gave birth to premature, weak calves in the first 5 weeks of the outbreak. Sera were collected from all cows and examined for Neospora antibody titers susing a recombinant antigen ELISA. Ninety-four percent of cows were seropositive. Titers ranged as high as 1:200,000, and the geometric mean titer of aborting cows was 1:22,500. Cattle were fed silage at 2 weeks intervals, beginning 2 months prior to the index abortion. There was evidence of wild and domestic animal activity around the silage. Scat samples were collected for flotation exams and PCR analysis. Premature calves were obtained for successful attempts to culture Neospora. Further results will be presented.
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