Sheep abortions associated with Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii infections in multiple flocks from Southern Brazil

Neosporosis and toxoplasmosis are important parasitic causes of abortions in small ruminants. This study verified the occurrence of these diseases in sheep fetuses from Santa Catarina State, Southern Brazil from 2015 to 2022. Sheep fetuses were necropsied with organ sampling for histopathology, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii using the Nc5 and SAG2 targets, respectively, in frozen brain tissue. Microbiological culture and RT-PCR for Pestivirus were conducted to discard other abortion causes. One positive fetus for toxoplasmosis was genotyped using multiplex multilocus nested PCR-RFLP (Mn-PCR-RFLP) with ten genetic markers. Fifty-five sheep fetuses were evaluated, with 10 (18.2