Prevalence of Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in sera from camels from Egypt

Sera from camels from Egypt were examined by the direct agglutination tests incorporating mercaptoethanol for antibodies to Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii. Antibodies to N. caninum were found in 6 of 161 camels in titers of 1:40 (2 camels) and 1:80, 1:160, 1:640, and 1:1280 in 1 camel each, using N. caninum formalin preserved whole tachyzoites as antigen. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 17.4% of 166 camels in titers of 1:25 (3 camels), 1:50 (18 camels), and greater than or equal to 1:500 (8 camels) using T. gondii tachyzoites. All 6 camels with M. caninum antibodies had no T. gondii antibodies in 1:4 dilution of serum, indicating specificity of the reaction. This is the first report of N. caninum prevalence in Egypt. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.