Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in sheep in Uruguay

The objective of this study was to estimate the true prevalence of seropositive individual sheep against Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in Uruguay using the Rogan–Gladen estimator in combination with Monte Carlo simulation. Ten herds were kept under observation in 2008. Each study herd was randomly selected at different farms recruited from the Departments of Artigas, Salto and Canelones. The required total sample size was determined by power analysis, and blood samples collected were analysed using a commercial ELISA for the detection of antibody to the two pathogens mentioned above. The overall seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum were estimated at 38.9% (5th percentile of 36.5%; 95th perc. of 41.4%; N = 1361) and 0.7% (5th percentile of 0.1%; 95th perc. of 1.4%; N = 1357), respectively. Establishing prevalence distributions using Monte Carlo simulation could be useful for further risk assessment.