Investigation of the prevalence of Neospora caninum in traditional cheeses produced from the milk of ruminants in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province by molecular method

Cheese isamong ther dairy products and is a suitable environment for the growth and reproduction of microorganisms. One of these pathogens, Neospora caninum, causes abortion in cows. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of N. caninum in traditional cheeses produced from ruminant milk using molecular method. In this study, 86 traditional cheese samples consisting 42 cow cheese, 20 sheep cheese, 12 goat cheese, and 12 sheep cheese ripened in brine were randomly collected from dairy herds in Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari provinces. The samples were transferred to the laboratory in sterile conditions next to ice an, and Nested-PCR technique was used on Nc5 gene for molecular analysis. The results showed that 9.3% (8/86) of the samples were contaminated with N. caninum. The highest contamination (12.5%) was found in cow milk cheese samples. No contamination was observed in traditional cheeses produced from goat milk or sheep brined cheese. The comparison of contamination levels in different cheeses showed no significant difference between the groups. Since milk and dairy products have a high place in the human food basket; therefore, the healthiness of these foods is crucial.