Use of indirect elisa based on recombinant protein NcSAG1 for seroprevalence of Neospora caninum antibodies in sheep, ducks and pigeons from EGYPT

Neosporosis is a disease caused by the Neospora caninum, an intracellular protozoan parasite belonging to phylum apicomplexa, which is responsible for abortion and economic loss in the bovine industry. Sheep, duck and pigeon populations are susceptible to neosporosis and can transmit this disease. For this reason, development of the diagnostic assays for detecting N. caninum infection within these populations is greatly important. The current study aimed to monitor the capability of using recombinant NcSAG1t as ELISA diagnostic candidate in order to assess the seroprevalence and risk factors of N. caninum antibodies in sheep, ducks and pigeons from Egypt. The overall prevalence of N. caninum was 10.53%, 31.69%, and 9.35% in sheep, ducks and pigeons, respectively. Statistically significant differences in the seroprevalence of N. caninum were demonstrated on the basis of age, season, gender and contact with the definitive host, dogs. The high seroprevalence of N. caninum antibodies in sheep, pigeons and ducks indicated that Neospora infection is widely distributed in Egypt. The use of ELISA based on recombinant NcSAG1t to diagnose neosporosis is a promising method.