Neosporosis in Iran; recent evidences and perspectives

Neospora caninum is considered as a cyst forming coccidian parasite nearly related to Toxoplasma gondii. Shortly after discovery of N. caninum, neosporosis has identified as a notable infectious disease of both cattle and dogs worldwide, which it frequently leads to clinical infections in warm-blooded animals such as horses, goats, sheep, camels and deer. More importantly, in cattle industry, it is mentioned one of the important causes of abortion in too many countries. Economic losses from N. caninum infection are associated with abortion, stillbirth, neonatal mortality, increased culling and reduced milk yield in cattle industry in the world. Different diagnostic tools can be used for detection of N. caninum infection including histology, polymerase chain reaction and serology. Because of the intimately biologic relationship of N. caninum to Toxoplasma gondii and since non-human primates had been experimentally infected, an issue of concern is that N. caninum might be zoonotic. Previously, some researchers successfully infected two rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulata) with N. caninum experimentally, which reinforces the concern about the zoonotic potential of this disease. In the one last decade, N. caninum has been extensively investigated in Iran. In this sense, the present paper reviews recent knowledge on biology, life cycle, transmission and zoonotic aspects of N. caninum. Attention is also paid to presence of N. caninum infection in the last decade in Iran.