Neosporosis in a pup

Abstract Case. A 13-week-old female boxer pup was found to be suffering from rigidity of the left hindleg. Antibiotic and anti-inflammatory treatment over a 3-week period failed to improve the condition and the pup was humanely killed. Results. The IF AT for anti-Neosporu antibodies showed a titre of 1:51 200 in the clinically affected pup while the latex agglutination test for Toxoplasma antibodies was negative. The dam and one of two tested litter mates had anti-Neospora IFAT titres of 1:1600, the other litter mate was negative. All three were not clinically affected. Histological, immunohistochemical and polymerase chain reaction examinations of the affected pup confirmed the diagnosis of Neospora infection. Conclusion. In the live animal, serological examination is thought to be the most useful specific test. Post-mortem examination by traditional histology, immunohistochemistry and the polymerase chain reaction confirmed the diagnosis. The case is discussed in the context of present knowledge about N...