NEOSPORA CANINUM–LIKE OOCYSTS OBSERVED IN FECES OF FREE-RANGING RED FOXES (VULPES VULPES) AND COYOTES (CANIS LATRANS)

The aim of this study was to examine the feces of free-ranging foxes and coyotes for the presence of Neospora caninum oocysts. Feces were collected from 271 foxes and 185 coyotes in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, processed by sucrose flotation, and examined by light microscopy for the presence of coccidian oocysts. In 2 fox and 2 coyote samples, oocysts morphologically and morphometrically similar to oocysts of N. caninum were observed. DNA was extracted from these samples and subjected to nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers to the N. caninum–specific Nc5 genomic sequence. Through DNA sequencing, alignment of the sequences of at least 3 clones from each isolate to sequences deposited in GenBank revealed 95–99% similarity to the Nc5 sequence of N. caninum. PCR using primers specific for Hammondia heydorni failed to yield an amplification product from these DNA samples.