o'cockaigne

What is Neospora?

Neospora Canium is one of the most important causes of rejection of calves in cows. It concerns a unicellular parasite that was recognized in 1984 for the first time at the dog, hence the addition canium. Treatment of infected cows is not possible. Infected animals will be taken off.

How is a beef infected with Neospora?

The most important infection route is from mother to descendant. An infected and pregnant bovine animal carries the infection at 80% of the offspring. This is called vertical contamination. In addition, Neospora can be transferred from dog to cattle or vice versa. This is called horizontal contamination. The dog eats the birth, the discarded fruit, amniotic fluid or raw meat from an infected bovine animal and after 12 to 13 days it excretes contagious eggs in his feces. When these excrements end up in the feed/drinking water, the bovine animals are contaminated. This can cause an abortion storm on companies.  

What is the influence of city dogs on rejection in connection with Neospora?

Every dog poses a risk. The more contact with livestock the greater the risk. So farm dogs are the biggest risk, but also civilian dogs can become infected by eating raw meat or childbirth from the country. A stray dog does not belong in the country at home.

What does Neospora have to do with our dog sport?

Scientific research has established that dogs that come into contact with contaminated material can transfer the disease to cows. In the case of contaminated material: feces, birth, etc. Because of this, there are more and more farmers who no longer want us to find our dogs on their pastures and fields in order to avoid contamination in this way. Although the own dog that runs in the yard poses the most risks, veterinarians who only deal with pastoralists advise their clients also to exclude risk and not allow dogs on the pastures. Veterinarians who also have a small pet practice, think more nuanced here. However, it remains a major economic risk!

Is it possible/sensible to test our dogs on this?

Research in the dog does not make sense. The blood rash of a dog is not suitable to allow the farmer to take measures concerning A problem with the cows. If antibodies are shown in the blood of a dog, this means that this dog has experienced an infection. It is possible that this dog has excreted oocysts which can be absorbed by the cows, so that these cows can then infect themselves. The absence of antibodies in the dog’s blood does not preclude an infection where oocysts could have been excreted. Examination of the dog’s stool on the presence of Neospora Caninum-ocysts is also not meaningful because there is a short period of separation.

What can we do to accommodate farmers?

For a livestock farmer it is important to prevent the contamination of animal feed with dog feces. It is also necessary to prevent dogs from infecting themselves by eating infectious material of the cows, such as birth, amniotic fluid, discarded fruit or raw meat.