Serological Survey of Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii Co-Infection in Rodents in Northwestern Iran

• Published in: Iranian journal of parasitology Vol. 15; no. 2; pp. 253 - 258
• Main Authors: Nazari, Naser, Shojaee, Saeedeh, Salimi, Mahboobeh, Mohebali, Mehdi, Ahmadifard, Navid, Hamzavi, Yazdan, Zarei, Zabihollah, Farahmand-Rad, Reza, Bozorgomid, Arezoo, Heydarian, Peyman
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Iran Tehran University of Medical Sciences 01-04-2020
• Subjects: Indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT); Iran; Neospora caninum; Protozoa; Rodents; Serology; Short Communication; Toxoplasma gondii; Iran; Indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT); Toxoplasma gondii; Iran; Rodents; Neospora caninum
• ISSN: 1735-7020; 2008-238X
• DOI: 10.18502/ijpa.v15i2.3308

Our knowledge of the epidemiology of rodents' parasitic agents in Iran is scarce, although some of these pathogens play an important role in human and veterinary medicine, such as
and
. The purpose of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of
and
in rodents of northwestern Iran between Mar and Dec 2015.
Overall, 157 serum samples from rodents (101
, 41
, and 15
) were assayed by the indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT) for antibodies to
and
.
We found a prevalence of 20.38% (32/157) for
35% (55/157) for
. Co-presence of antibodies to
and
was found in 10 (6.36%) rodents. A significant association was found between the rodents species and seropositivity to
(
<0.05) but there was no association with rodents species for
. The overall prevalence of the aforementioned parasites was higher in male versus female rodents.
The high seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis and neosporosis in rodents in the study area has implications for translocation of these infections across wider geographical regions since these rodents are mostly preyed on by cats or dogs; hence, which can transfer the parasite to other hosts.