Histopathology of experimental infection of sheep sheep Ovis aries by Neospora caninum

Histopatologia de la infección experimental de ovejas sin lana Ovis aries por Neospora caninum

Sheep out of fleece, in different reproductive stages, were inoculated with N. caninum tachizoites strain «NCbeef » with the purpose of study the pathophysiology of the disease and the possibility of using them as an experimental model of bovine neosporosis. Inoculation by intravenous route was used. Five pregnant sheep (one with 15 days, two with 30 days, two with 90 days), three not pregnant and two with 10 days post partum were inoculated. By serology, the animals were negative for N.caninum and T. gondii. Two pregnant sheep, not inoculated, were used as negative controls. All lambs born from sheep inoculated before or during the gestation showed hystopathologic alterations in different tissues. The most severe were observed in the central nervous system. Inflammatory nonsuppurative processes with or without dystrophic mineralization were the most common lesions. Presence of tissue cysts was also observed. Clinical signs of the disease or antibodies against the parasite in the lambs born from sheep inoculated 10 days post partum weren’t observed. In the necropsy of one lamb belonging to this group no pathologic sign was observed. None of the animals of the control group showed hystopathologic alterations.

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