M.M. McAllister
N. E. Mateus-Pinilla
W. Pitt
L.D. Mech
M.E. Nelson
M.S. Lenarz
L.F.P. Gondim
2004
<p><span>To determine whether deer can transmit </span><i>Neospora caninum</i><span>, brains of naturally infected white-tailed deer (</span><i>Odocoileus virginianus</i><span>) were fed to 4 dogs; 2 of these dogs shed oocysts. Oocysts from 1 of the dogs were tested by polymerase chain reaction and found to be positive for </span><i>N. caninum</i><span> and negative for </span><i>Hammondia heydorni</i><span>. The internal transcribed spacer 1 sequence of the new strain (designated NC-deer1) was identical to </span><i>N. caninum</i><span> from domestic animals, indicating that </span><i>N. caninum</i><span> is transmitted between wild and domestic animals, often enough to prevent divergent evolution of isolated populations of the parasite. NC-deer1 oocysts were administered to a calf that developed a high antibody titer, providing evidence that </span><i>N. caninum</i><span> from wildlife can infect cattle. In addition, </span><i>N. caninum</i><span> antibody seroprevalence was detected in 64/164 (39%) free-ranging gray wolves (</span><i>Canis lupus</i><span>), 12/113 (11%) coyotes (</span><i>Canis latrans</i><span>), 50/193 (26%) white-tailed deer, and 8/61 (13%) moose (</span><i>Alces alces</i><span>). These data are consistent with a sylvatic transmission cycle of </span><i>N. caninum</i><span> between cervids and canids. We speculate that hunting by humans favors the transmission of </span><i>N. caninum</i><span> from deer to canids, because deer carcasses are usually eviscerated in the field. Infection of canids in turn increases the risk of transmitting the parasite to domestic livestock.</span></p>
application/pdf
10.1645/GE-341R
en
BioOne Complete
Transmission of Neospora caninum between wild and domestic animals
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