Neospora caninum antibodies in bulk tank milk from dairy cattle herds in Italy in relation to reproductive and productive parameters and spatial analysis

Acta Trop. 2024 Mar 21:107194. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2024.107194. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTAmong the available diagnostic techniques, antibody detection in bulk tank milk (BTM) represents a useful tool to estimate and monitor Neospora caninum herd prevalence. To evaluate the prevalence of N. caninum and the effect of parasite infection on herd performances, BTM samples collected from 586 dairy herds located in one of the largest dairy production areas in Italy (Lombardy) were analyzed by an indirect ELISA to detect anti-N. caninum specific antibodies. Generalized linear models (GLMs) were developed. A purely spatial analysis scanning for clusters with high or low rates for N. caninum using the Bernoulli model was performed. A maximum entropy approach was used to estimate the probability of distribution of the parasite based on occurrence records together with environmental variables. Overall, 180 herds resulted positive for N. caninum antibodies on bulk tank milk (P=30.7%). A higher risk of seropositivity was evidenced in the provinces of Milano, Cremona, Brescia, and Bergamo (P=32-40%); a lower risk was evidenced in Lodi, Pavia, and Mantova (P=13-24%). A higher risk of seropositivity was revealed for small-medium farms (101-300 animals) (O.R.=2.8) and for older animals with more than 4 years (O.R.=4.4). Regarding the effect of N. caninum infection on herd performances, the number of inseminations for conception was higher (> 3 inseminations), and the period from...
Source: Acta Tropica - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Source Type: research