First record of besnoitiosis caused by Besnoitia bennetti in donkeys from the UK

Abstract

Background: The involvement of Besnoitia bennetti in skin pathologies was investigated in a series of 20 donkeys from the Donkey Sanctuary in England, in the 2013-2019 period. Methods: The initial histopathological finding of Besnoitia cysts in skin lumps that were presumed to be sarcoids in 2013 triggered our cognisance of this parasite and resulted in identification of a total of 20 cases. Histopathological examination of surgical biopsy samples collected from 8 live donkeys and tissue specimens from 12 deceased donkeys at post-mortem examination revealed the presence of Besnoitia cysts in all 20 donkeys. The indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) and immunoblotting analysis showed the presence of anti-Besnoitia antibodies in archived serum samples from 4 deceased donkeys. Additionally, infection was evidenced in one live donkey based on IFAT and immunoblot analysis of tissue fluid of a dermal mass containing Besnoitia cysts, and real-time (RT)-PCR analysis and microsatellite genotyping of DNA isolated from the tissue of the same dermal mass confirmed the infection specifically as B. bennetti. Results: Both serological and microsatellite analyses confirmed the aetiology to be B. bennetti. Our findings suggested that in cases of skin masses such as sarcoids, the suspicion of B. bennetti infection should be borne in mind even when clinical and histopathology examination results are negative in order to avoid misdiagnosis. Conclusions: This case series documents, to our knowledge, the first report of B. bennetti infection in donkeys in the UK, indicating that donkey besnoitiosis has become noteworthy in the UK. Further investigations of the occurrence, epidemiological characteristics, and clinical manifestations of B. bennetti infection in donkeys and other equids are warranted.

Besnoitiosis in donkeys: an emerging parasitic disease of equids in Italy

“…The two infected donkeys were 1 year old. According to previous studies, clinical cases were reported both in young donkeys with an age range between 1 and 7 years old (Ness et al 2012 ), but the disease was also reported in older animals (Dubey et al 2005 ; Liénard et al 2018 ; Elsheikha et al 2020 ). The animals showed clinical signs typical of the disease, i.e., scleral pearls in the eyes and tissue cysts in the skin, particularly in the region of the neck and the leg and on the pinnae.…”

“…Besnoitiosis in equids was previously reported in Europe: recently, besnoitiosis was diagnosed in two donkeys in Belgium, and B. bennetti was recognized by partial rDNA sequencing (Liénard et al 2018 ). In the UK, the infection of B. bennetti was confirmed by microsatellite genotyping of DNA isolated from a dermal mass in one out of 20 infected donkeys (Elsheikha et al 2020 ). Furthermore, serosurveys for Besnoitia spp.…”

“…Recently, the disease was suspected in seven donkeys from southern Spain since tissue cysts were detected by histopathology (Zafra et al 2013 ). Clinical cases of besnoitiosis were also reported in two and 20 donkeys in Belgium and the UK, respectively (Liénard et al 2018 ; Elsheikha et al 2020 ): in both these reports, the diagnosis was molecularly confirmed. Furthermore, Besnoitia spp.…”

First record of an infection by tissue cyst-forming coccidia in wild vizcachas (Lagostomus maximus, Rodentia) of Argentina

“…The Besnoitia life cycle is not yet fully known and may be complex with various intermediate, definitive hosts and vectors. So far, there have been described ten Besnoitia species, of which three occur in domestic livestock ( Álvarez-García et al, 2013 ; Oryan et al, 2014 ; Gutiérrez-Expósito et al, 2017 ; Elsheikha et al, 2020 ). Among those species infecting wildlife, the recently mentioned B. oryctofelisi is responsible for infection in lagomorphs ( Dubey et al, 2003a ) and at least four species have been identified in rodents: B. neotomofelis ( Dubey and Yabsley, 2010 ), B. akodoni ( Dubey et al, 2003b ), B. wallacei ( Frenkel, 1977 ) and B. jellisoni ( Ernst et al, 1968 ; Olias et al, 2011 ).…”

Guide to common skin disorders in donkeys

“…Donkeys are often presented with novel or unusual presentations of dermatological disease, and in some cases the interested clinician may be the first to document a skin disease in this species. For example, the first recorded cases of besnoitiosis (Elsheikha and others 2020) and molluscum contagiosum (Fox and others 2012) were described in UK donkeys.…”