No to Neospora

21 February 1997

No to Neospora

NEOSPORA, a major cause of abortion in cattle, is not a significant cause of abortion in sheep.

Abortions have been induced in ewes infected experimentally with the parasite, but research on aborted lambs found no significant amount of antibody in any of the samples, according to a report in Veterinary Record, 15 Feb 1997.

The researchers, led by Arthur Otter, of the Johnstown, Camarthen vet investigation centre, say that further investigations for Neospora in infected lambs are needed before the true incidence in sheep is clear. But they conclude that Neospora is not associated with significant foetal loss.n