First report of Neospora caninum seroprevalence in farmed raccoon dogs in China.

Graphical abstract Evidence of Neospora caninum exposure in farmed raccoon dogs in China Abstract Neospora caninum is an intracellular protozoan parasite with a worldwide distribution, which can cause abortion and stillbirth in ruminants. However, little is known of N. caninum infection in raccoon dogs in China. Thus, a total of 1181 serum samples of farmed raccoon dogs were collected from the major production areas of Jilin, Changchun in Jilin province, and Rizhao, Weihai and Yantai in Shandong province in China. The antibodies to N. caninum were examined by a competitive-inhibition enzyme-linked immunoassay (cELISA). While the N. caninum seroprevalence in farmed raccoon dogs from different regions (cities) were not statistically significant, farmed raccoon dogs in Shandong province had a significantly higher N. caninum seroprevalence (8.99%, 95% CI 7.13–10.85) than those in Jilin province (4.46%, 95% CI 1.99–6.93) (P < 0.05). N. caninum seroprevalence in male and female raccoon dogs were 7.91% (95% CI 5.99–9.83) and 8.06% (95% CI 5.46–10.66), respectively. In addition, the seroprevalence of N. caninum infection in infancy, youth and adult raccoon dogs was 7.32% (95% CI 4.31–10.33), 7.93% (95% CI 5.44–10.42) and 8.41% (95% CI 5.82–11.00), respectively. This is the first report of N. caninum seroprevalence in farmed raccoon dogs in China, which provided baseline data for the prevention of N. caninum infection in raccoon dogs in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]