Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Neospora infection passed from Doberman mom to some puppies but only
By Heckeroth, A R & Tenter, A M·Published in Parasitology research·2007·Intervet Innovation GmbH, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Immunoanalysis of three litters born to a Doberman bitch infected with Neospora caninum.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A Doberman mother and her puppies were tested for a parasite called Neospora caninum, which can cause serious health issues in dogs. While several puppies from three litters showed signs of exposure to the parasite, only one puppy from the last litter developed symptoms of the disease. This puppy had the highest level of the parasite in its system compared to the others. Understanding why only some puppies get sick from this infection can help veterinarians better manage and treat affected dogs in the future.
People also search for: Doberman puppy Neospora caninum · dog parasite symptoms · puppy health issues · Neospora treatment in dogs
Abstract
Neospora caninum is a tissue cyst-forming coccidium that may cause neuromuscular disorders in dogs. Infected bitches can transmit the parasite to their pups in utero. Vertical transmission may occur after primary infection during pregnancy and in subsequent pregnancies. The reason why only a few pups develop clinical neosporosis is unknown. We obtained sera from a Doberman bitch and its offspring delivered in three litters. The bitch had a titer of 1:640 in an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). At least three pups of litter A, one pup of litter B, and two pups of litter C were also seropositive for N. caninum. However, clinical neosporosis developed only in one pup of litter C, which had the highest IFAT titer (1:5,120) of all dogs examined. Western blots carried out after one-dimensional and two-dimensional separation of N. caninum tachyzoites revealed that the largest number of antigens was recognized by sera derived from the bitch. The lowest number of antigens was recognized by serum from the pup with clinical neosporosis. However, this pup uniquely recognized a major antigen with a molecular weight of about 17,000. The information collected in this study adds to our knowledge on why some pups develop clinical neosporosis and others do not.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17096148/