High point seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in sheep with abortion history in the central part of Türkiye

Small ruminant breeding plays a vital role in livestock farming in Türkiye but is adversely affected by many infectious pathogens, including Toxoplasma (T.) gondii and Neospora (N.) caninum. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of ovine toxoplasmosis and neosporosis in sheep with varying abortion histories in the Central Anatolia Region of Türkiye. Two hundred and forty-three sheep blood samples were taken from different farms, 115 of these samples from sheep with abortion problems, and the others were from sheep herds with no abortion history. Recombinant TgSAG2 and NcSAG1-based indirect ELISA were used to determine specific antibodies against T. gondii and N. caninum. The study revealed a high T. gondii and N. caninum prevalence in the herd suffering from abortions. The T. gondii and N. caninum seroprevalences in sheep with an abortion history were 66.1% and 50.4%, respectively. However, it was 26.6% for T. gondii and 10.9% for N. caninum in randomly selected sheep without an abortion history. This study reports the highest N. caninum seroprevalence both overall (29.63%) and in sheep with an abortion history (50.4%) in Türkiye. Although neosporosis is the primary abortifacient protozoan infection in cattle, the high N. caninum seroprevalence detected in the sheep with an abortion history indicates that this disease should also be considered in ovine abortion cases. The present study revealed that ovine toxoplasmosis and neosporosis are prevalent, and may contribute to abortions in sheep from the sampling area in the Central Anatolia Region of Türkiye.