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dc.contributor.authorSemango, George
dc.contributor.authorHamilton, Clare
dc.contributor.authorKreppel, Katharina
dc.contributor.authorKatzer, Frank
dc.contributor.authorKibona, Tito
dc.contributor.authorLankester, Felix
dc.contributor.authorAllan, Kathryn
dc.contributor.authorThomas, Kate
dc.contributor.authorClaxton, John
dc.contributor.authorInnes, Elizabeth
dc.contributor.authorSwai, Emmanuel
dc.contributor.authorBuza, Joram
dc.contributor.authorCleaveland, Sarah
dc.contributor.authorde Glanville, William
dc.date.accessioned2019-10-17T12:59:15Z
dc.date.available2019-10-17T12:59:15Z
dc.date.issued2019-09-26
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2019.00327
dc.identifier.urihttp://dspace.nm-aist.ac.tz/handle/123456789/500
dc.descriptionResearch Article published by Frontiers in Veterinary Science | Volume 6 | Article 327 | September 2019en_US
dc.description.abstractNeospora caninum is a protozoan intracellular parasite of animals with a global distribution. Dogs act as definitive hosts, with infection in cattle leading to reproductive losses. Neosporosis can be a major source of income loss for livestock keepers, but its impacts in sub-Saharan Africa are mostly unknown. This study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence and identify risk factors for N. caninum infection in cattle in northern Tanzania, and to link herd-level exposure to reproductive losses. Serum samples from 3,015 cattle were collected from 380 households in 20 villages between February and December 2016. Questionnaire data were collected from 360 of these households. Household coordinates were used to extract satellite derived environmental data from open-access sources. Sera were tested for the presence of N. caninum antibodies using an indirect ELISA. Risk factors for individual-level seropositivity were identified with logistic regression using Bayesian model averaging (BMA). The relationship between herd-level seroprevalence and abortion rates was assessed using negative binomial regression. The seroprevalence of N. caninum exposure after adjustment for diagnostic test performance was 21.5% [95% Credibility Interval (CrI) 17.9–25.4]. The most important predictors of seropositivity selected by BMA were age greater than 18months [Odds ratio (OR) = 2.17, 95% CrI 1.45–3.26], the local cattle population density (OR = 0.69, 95% CrI 0.41–1.00), household use of restricted grazing (OR = 0.72, 95% CrI 0.25–1.16), and an increasing percentage cover of shrub or forest land in the environment surrounding a household (OR = 1.37, 1.00–2.14). There was a positive relationship between herd-level N. caninum seroprevalence and the reported within-herd abortion rate (Incidence Rate Ratio = 1.03, 95% CrI 1.00–1.06). Our findings suggest N. caninum is likely to be an important cause of abortion in cattle in Tanzania. Management practices, such as restricted grazing, are likely to reduce the risk of infection and suggest contamination of communal grazing areas may be important for transmission. Evidence for a relationship between livestock seropositivity and shrub and forest habitats raises questions about a potential role for wildlife in the epidemiology of N. caninum in Tanzania.en_US
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherFrontiers in Veterinary Scienceen_US
dc.subjectNeospora caninumen_US
dc.subjectLivestock-husbandryen_US
dc.titleThe Sero-epidemiology of Neospora caninum in Cattle in Northern Tanzaniaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US


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