Serological diagnosis of Neospora caninum in domestic and stray dogs in Babylon province, Iraq

Background: Neospora caninum is a significant intracellular protozoan that invades dogs as definitive and intermediate hosts, particularly farm animals as intermediate animal hosts. This parasitic infection leads to extreme financial losses due to reproductive distress and neurological illnesses in dogs. Aim: The current study aimed to identify N. caninum in domestic and stray dogs from different areas of Babylon province and to evaluate the influence of risk factors like sex, age, and months, on the ratio of infection. Methods: Based on serological tests Indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent assay, (iELISA), a total of 146 blood samples were collected from dogs, with 76 and 70 samples collected from stray and domestic dogs, respectively, from July to December (2024). Results: The overall prevalence rate was 26.7% (39/146), whereas the infection rate in stray dogs was 36.8% (28/76), which was higher than that in domestic dogs at 15.7% (11/70), with a highly significant difference (p ≤ 0.05). No significant difference was observed (p ≥ 0.05) between the sexes; the proportion of males was 29.3% (22/75) and that of females was 23.9% (17/71). The higher ratio of infection in domestic dogs was investigated in the adult age group, 17.5% (7/41), in comparison with the lower infection rate of 13.7% (4/29) in the puppies, with no significant statistical difference (p ≥ 0.05). A monthly analysis demonstrated a higher infection rate in stray dogs and domestic dogs (34.6%) in September, followed by October (32%), whereas a lower infection rate was found in November (18.1%), followed by December (13%). Conclusion: The present study used serological diagnostic examination methods, particularly ELISA, to identify the critical role of stray and domestic dogs in the epidemiological cycle of neosporrosis and dissemination of N. caninum infection among animals in Babylon Province, Iraq. [Open Vet J 2025; 15(4.000): 1713-1718]