First detection and molecular identification of Neospora caninum from naturally infected cattle and sheep in North Africa

Summary Neosporosis, caused by the protozoan Neospora caninum, is a major cause of reproductive failure in ruminants causing enormous economic losses. The objective of this study was to estimate the infection rate and molecular identification of N. caninum in Tunisian cattle and sheep. A total number of 348 meat samples were collected from 150 cows and 198 ewes slaughtered in the regional slaughterhouse of Béja (North‐west Tunisia) and tested for the presence of N. caninum ITS1 gene using PCR followed by sequencing of some PCR products. A phylogenetic tree was then constructed to compare the partial sequences of the ITS1 gene with GenBank sequences. The overall molecular infection prevalence of N. caninum was significantly higher in cattle than in sheep (22 and 10.6%, respectively, p = .003). In sheep, the highest prevalence was observed in the northern Béja locality (31.2 ± 16.1), with the Noire de Thibar breed as the most infected sheep breed (31.7 ± 14.2%) (p