Seroprevalence and risk factors associated to Neospora caninum in dairy cattle herds in the municipality of Pasto, Colombia

Objective. To determine seroprevalence and risk factors associated to Neospora caninum in non-vaccinated dairy cattle against infectious agents of reproductive syndrome in the municipality of Pasto, Colombia. Materials and methods. Farms over 2527 meters over sea level were selected, a total of 238 serum samples of Holstein cows were collected and analyzed using the indirect ELISA test to determine N. caninum seropositivity. An epidemiological survey was realized in each herd which included variables related to health and management measures of cattle. A multivariate analysis of binary logistic regression was used with a confidence interval of 95% (p<0.05) using SPSS19® program. Results. The estimated prevalence of N. caninum was 76.9%. The risk factors associated to neosporosis infection in the analyzed farms are as follows: residues of abortions generally left outdoors and not buried (OR 3.81, 95% CI 1.5 - 9.6); dogs fed with leftovers (OR 15.44 IC 95% 1.94-123.22) and bulls allowed to mate with cows (OR 19.68, 95% CI 2.34 - 165.52). Conclusions. The high prevalence of N. caninum and the low abortion rate in dairy herds of the municipality of Pasto corroborated no existence of the disease in all animals serologically positive, but it did suggest that at some point in their lives they were exposed to N. caninum. From the identified risk factors in this study, recommendations can be provided for an effective control of reproductive diseases like Neosporosis present in this region.