prevalence and risk factors associated to neospora caninum (apicomplexa: toxoplasmatidae) in pet dogs from hamadan, west of iran, 2016

Background: neosporosis is considered as a ubiquitous disease in iran and other countries. this research was expected to determine the prevalence and related risk factors of neospora caninum in household dogs in hamadan municipality, iran. methods: a total of 184 whole blood was evaluated for the presence of antibodies to n. caninum by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa). all seropositive animals were affirmed by molecular techniques. results: based on serology and molecular methods, n. caninum infection was detected in 4.9% (95% ci = 4.9 ± 3.1%) of animals. in addition, the highest infection rate was significantly recognized in female dogs (57.1%) with under 6 months old (54.4%). additionally, the clinical signs of neosporosis were observed in 2 out of 4 positive dogs (p < 0.0001, odds ratio [or] = 24.71). finally, the infection had no significant connection (p > 0.05) with breeding, food regime, housing, and direct contact with infected animals. conclusions: in general, the serological and molecular outcomes were parallel together. it was concluded that this is a universal assessment of risk factors related to n. caninum in iranian house dogs for the first time.