Seroprevalance of Neospora caninum in Miyaneh sheep (Azarbayejan-e-Shargi province) by competitive ELISA and IFA methods

Neospora caninum is an animal protozoan that causes reproductive failure in sheep. The aim of current study is to determine seroprevalence of N. caninum in sheep of Miyaneh, Northwest Iran by two methods of competitive Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) and indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) in 2012. 317 sera samples were obtained from 9 villages and were tested. Seroprevalence of N. caninum was 4.1% (13 sera) by ELISA and the most of positive sera were in the inhibition range of 30- 40. 8 (2.52%) sera were positive by IFA and the most observed positive titer in this test was 1:64. Regarding IFA as golden test, the sensitivity and specificity of ELISA were 61.5% and 100%, respectively and the positive and negative predictive values were 100% and 98.3%, respectively. The agreement between two tests were 98.4% and the Kappa coefficient was 0.755 (p<0.001). The results showed low seroprevalence and environmental exposure in sheep of this region to the parasite.