Neospora caninum serostatus and milk production of Holstein cattle

Objective - To determine whether Neospora canmum serostatus was associated with milk production among Holstein cattle in Ontario. Design - Case-control study and cross-sectional observational study. Animals - 3,702 Holstein cows in 83 herds (case-control study) and 3,162 Holstein cows in 57 herds. Procedure - Herds in the case-control study were grouped on the basis of N caninum abortion status. Herds in the observational study were considered representative of Ontario dairy herds. The N caninum serostatus of individual cows was determined with a kinetic ELISA. Milk production was modeled to compare seropositive with seronegative animals while controlling for parity, days since parturition, and herd clustering. Results - In the case-control study, 305-day milk production of seropositive cows was significantly less than milk production of seronegative cows in herds with abortions attributable to N caninum infection and in herds with abortions attributable to pathogens other than N caninum, but not in herds without abortion problems. In the observational study, 305-day milk production for seropositive cows was not significantly different from milk production of seronegative cows. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance - Results suggest that the association between N caninum serostatus and milk production in Ontario Holstein dairy cattle may depend on abortion status of the herd. In herds with abortion problems, regardless of cause, N caninum-seropositive cattle produced less milk, whereas in herds without abortion problems, N can/num-seropositive cattle produced the same amount of milk as seronegative cattle.