Concomitant infection of Neospora caninum and Bovine Herpesvirus type 5 in spontaneous bovine abortions1

Bovine Herpesvirus type 5 (BoHV-5) has not been conclusively demonstrated to cause bovine abortion. Brain lesions produced by Neospora caninum and Bovine Herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1) exhibit common features. Therefore, careful microscopic evaluation and additional diagnostic procedures are required to achieve an accurate final etiological diagnosis. The aim of the present work was to investigate the occurrence of infections due to BoHV-1, BoHV-5 and N. caninum in 68 cases of spontaneous bovine abortions which showed microscopic lesions in the fetal central nervous system. This study allowed the identification of 4 (5.9%) fetuses with dual infection by BoHV-5 and N. caninum and 33 (48.5%) cases in which N. caninum was the sole pathogen identified. All cases were negative to BoHV-1. The results of this study provide evidence that dual infection by BoHV-5 and N. caninum occur during pregnancy in cattle; however, the role of BoHV-5 as a primary cause of bovine abortion needs further research. Molecular diagnosis of BoHV-5 and N. caninum confirmed the importance of applying complementary assays to improve the sensitivity of diagnosing bovine abortion. Fil: Marin, Maia Solange. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina; Fil: Morrell, Eleonora Lidia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina; Fil: Perez, Sandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Tandil. Centro de Investigacion Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina; Fil: Leunda, Maria R.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina; Fil: Moore, Dadin Prando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina; Fil: Jones, Leandro Roberto. Fund.Playa Union. Estacion de Fotobiologia Playa Union; Argentina; Fil: Campero, Carlos Manuel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina; Fil: Odeon, Anselmo Carlos. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina