Korean J Parasitol.  2007 Dec;45(4):295-299. 10.3347/kjp.2007.45.4.295.

Loss of infectivity of Neospora caninum oocysts maintained for a prolonged time

Affiliations
  • 1Universidade Federal da Bahia, Escola de Medicina Veterinaria, Departamento de Patologia e Clinicas, Avenida Ademar de Barros, 500, Ondina, Salvador, Bahia, 40170-110, Brazil. pita@ufba.br
  • 2University of Illinois, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Urbana, Illinois, USA.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether sporulated Neospora caninum oocysts, which had been stored for 46 mo in a 2% sulfuric acid solution at 4 degrees C, remain morphologically viable and infective to gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). Six gerbils were orally inoculated with doses of 400 or 1,200 oocysts. Two mo after inoculation, the animals did not show any clinical signs, had no histological lesions, and were seronegative for N. caninum at 1: 50 in an immunofluorescent antibody test. PCR using the brain from each gerbil did not reveal N. caninum specific DNA. We conclude that oocysts preserved for 46 mo are not infective, despite being morphologically intact.

Keyword

Neospora caninum; oocysts; Mongolian gerbils; Meriones unguiculatus; infectivity

MeSH Terms

Acids
Animals
Brain/parasitology/pathology
Cattle/parasitology
Coccidiosis/parasitology/pathology/*veterinary
Feces/parasitology
Female
Gerbillinae/*parasitology
Neospora/genetics/growth & development/*pathogenicity
Oocysts/*growth & development
Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods
Refrigeration
Virulence
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