An interlaboratory comparison of immunohistochemistry and PCR methods for detection of Neospora caninum in bovine foetal tissues C. van Maanen a , W. Wouda a, * , G. Schares b , D. von Blumro ¨der b , F.J. Conraths b , R. Norton c , D.J.L. Williams c , I. Esteban-Redondo d , E.A. Innes d , J.G. Mattsson e , C. Bjo ¨rkman f , A. Ferna ´ndez-Garcı ´a g , L.M. Ortega-Mora g , N. Mu ¨ller h , H. Sager h , A. Hemphill h a Animal Health Service, P.O. Box 9, NL-7400 AA Deventer, The Netherlands b Federal Research Centre for Virus Diseases of Animals, Institute of Epidemiology, Seestrasse 55, D-16868 Wusterhausen, Germany c Veterinary Parasitology Research Group, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, University of Liverpool, Pembroke Place, GB-Liverpool L3 5QA, UK d Moredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, GB-Edinburgh EH26 OPZ, UK e Department of Parasitology (SWEPAR), National Veterinary Institute, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-751 89 Uppsala, Sweden f Department of Ruminant Medicine and Veterinary Epidemiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden g Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, E-28040 Madrid, Spain h Institute of Parasitology, University of Berne, La ¨nggassstr.122, CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland Received 27 February 2004; received in revised form 9 August 2004; accepted 17 August 2004 Abstract Seven European laboratories contributed to a multi-centre evaluation of detection techniques for Neospora caninum in bovine foetuses. Six laboratories participated in immunohistochemistry (IHC) www.elsevier.com/locate/vetpar Veterinary Parasitology 126 (2004) 351–364 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +31 570 660222; fax: +31 570 660176. E-mail address: w.wouda@gdvdieren.nl (W. Wouda). 0304-4017/$ – see front matter # 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2004.08.016