Author(s)

Ravindra Nath Sharma^*, Jehna Bush, Keshaw Tiwari, Alfred Chikweto, Muhammad Iqbal Bhaiyat

Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada, West Indies.

Neospora caninum (N. caninum), an intracellular protozoan parasite, causes abortion and neonatal mortality in many herbivores including sheep and goats. The aim of this study was to estimate the Seroprevalence of N. caninum in sheep and goats in Grenada, West Indies. Sera were collected from 138 sheep and 138 goats from all six parishes of Grenada and Carriacou, a small island within Grenada. Animals were identified by gender. Sera were tested for antibodies for N. caninum using an indirect Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay (ELISA) multispecies Kit from Pourquire Laboratorie (IDvet, France). Antibodies to N. caninum were detected in 18 of 138 sheep (13%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 7.39% to 18.61%) and 8 of 138 goats (5.8%, 95% CI: 1.9% to 9.7%). Although seropositivity was high in female sheep and in male goats, there was no statistical difference in seropositivity of males and females in both species of animals (p > 0.05, χ²). The results of this study revealed that sheep and goats in Grenada were exposed to N. caninum and dogs might be considered as a source of infection. There was a need to educate the farmers, possessing small ruminants, about the transmission cycle of N. caninum and methods of prevention, to minimize the exposure of their flocks. This is the first report on seroprevalence of N. caninum in Grenada, West Indies.

Grenada, Neosporacaninum, Seroprevalence, Sheep/Goats

Sharma, R. , Bush, J. , Tiwari, K. , Chikweto, A. and Bhaiyat, M. (2015) Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum in Sheep and Goats from Grenada, West Indies. Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 5, 219-223. doi: 10.4236/ojvm.2015.511029.