| prevalence and geographic distribution of besnoitia besnoiti infection in cattle herds in portugal. | bovine besnoitiosis, caused by the apicomplexan parasite besnoitia besnoiti is considered an emergent disease in europe. this study aimed to determine the prevalence and geographic distribution of b. besnoiti in cattle herds in continental portugal and to identify potential spatial clustering of infection. a stratified two-stage cross-sectional serological survey was carried out between march 2012 and may 2013 with the five administrative nuts ii regions, norte, centro, lisboa, alentejo, and alg ... | 2014 | 25033814 |
| besnoitia besnoiti and toxoplasma gondii: two apicomplexan strategies to manipulate the host cell centrosome and golgi apparatus. | besnoitia besnoiti and toxoplasma gondii are two closely related parasites that interact with the host cell microtubule cytoskeleton during host cell invasion. here we studied the relationship between the ability of these parasites to invade and to recruit the host cell centrosome and the golgi apparatus. we observed that t. gondii recruits the host cell centrosome towards the parasitophorous vacuole (pv), whereas b. besnoiti does not. notably, both parasites recruit the host golgi apparatus to ... | 2014 | 24892307 |
| dynamics of besnoitia besnoiti infection in cattle. | bovine besnoitiosis is caused by the cyst-forming apicomplexan parasite besnoitia besnoiti. this disease progresses in two sequential phases: a febrile acute phase with oedemas and respiratory disorders, and a chronic phase characterized by the presence of subcutaneous tissue cysts and skin lesions. serious consequences of the infection are poor body condition, sterility in bulls and eventual death. the role of host/parasite-dependent factors, which play a major role in the pathogenesis of the d ... | 2014 | 24871877 |
| no detection of besnoitia besnoiti dna in the semen of chronically infected bulls. | bovine besnoitiosis is a chronic and debilitating disease observed in many european countries that may cause important economic losses in cattle. the recent widespread of the parasite in europe had led the european food safety authority to declare bovine besnoitiosis as a re-emerging disease in europe. many aspects of the epidemiology of bovine besnoitiosis such as the main routes of transmission are still unclear and need to be further studied. among the different hypotheses, a sexual transmiss ... | 2014 | 24802865 |
| a review on bovine besnoitiosis: a disease with economic impact in herd health management, caused by besnoitia besnoiti (franco and borges, ). | bovine besnoitiosis is caused by the largely unexplored apicomplexan parasite besnoitia besnoiti. in cows, infection during pregnancy often results in abortion, and chronically infected bulls become infertile. similar to other apicomplexans b. besnoiti has acquired a largely intracellular lifestyle, but its complete life cycle is still unknown, modes of transmission have not been entirely resolved and the definitive host has not been identified. outbreaks of bovine besnoitiosis in cattle were de ... | 2014 | 24694568 |
| seroprevalence of besnoitia besnoiti infection and associated risk factors in cattle from an endemic region in europe. | bovine besnoitiosis, caused by the parasite besnoitia besnoiti, is a chronic, debilitating disease with both cutaneous and systemic clinical signs that has re-emerged in europe. this is the first random cross-sectional prevalence study of b. besnoiti infection in cattle carried out in an endemic area in europe (navarra, spain). dairy (n = 372) and beef (n = 340) cattle >1 year of age were randomly blood sampled. serum was evaluated using a validated elisa. true animal prevalence data were restri ... | 2014 | 24656628 |
| prevalence of besnoitia besnoiti infection in beef cattle from the spanish pyrenees. | reports of recent outbreaks of bovine besnoitiosis in europe have emphasized the need for prevalence studies to determine the importance of the disease. a previous cross-sectional study carried out in a northern province of spain showed that seropositive cattle were beef breeds primarily located in regions where the disease is endemic (such as in the pyrenees). the present study focused on this population. sixty-three beef herds were selected and at least 50% of the animals in each herd were sam ... | 2014 | 24650545 |
| neutrophil extracellular traps as innate immune reaction against the emerging apicomplexan parasite besnoitia besnoiti. | besnoitia besnoiti infection in cattle is an important emerging protozoan disease in europe causing economic losses and severe clinical signs, such as generalized dermatitis, orchitis, and vulvitis in affected animals. neutrophil extracellular trap (net) formation was recently demonstrated as an important effector mechanism of pmn acting against several invading pathogens. in the present study, interactions of bovine pmn with tachyzoites of b. besnoiti were investigated in this respect in vitro. ... | 2014 | 24618849 |
| bovine besnoitiosis emerging in central-eastern europe, hungary. | besnoitia besnoiti, the cause of bovine besnoitiosis, is a cyst-forming coccidian parasite that has recently been shown to be spreading in several western and southern european countries. | 2014 | 24410743 |
| evidence for bovine besnoitiosis in egypt-first serosurvey of besnoitia besnoiti in cattle and water buffalo (bubalus bubalis) in egypt. | the present study evaluated the presence of specific antibodies against besnoitia besnoiti in cattle and water buffalo (bubalus bubalis) in egypt. sera from cattle (n = 216) and water buffaloes (n = 133) collected from five different provinces of egypt (behera, alexandria, assuit, gharbia, and matrouh) were analyzed. testing for b. besnoiti antibodies by priocheck® besnoitia ab 2.0 elisa initially identified 13.75 % (48 out of 349) of individual sera as positive at the manufacturer's suggested c ... | 2014 | 24375275 |
| frequency of antibodies against besnoitia besnoiti in brazilian cattle. | besnoitia besnoiti is a cyst-forming parasite that has been associated with economic losses in africa and europe. besnoitiosis is considered as a re-emergent disease in the european continent. it is unknown whether cattle are exposed to b. besnoiti in the americas, thus the aim of this study was to serologically investigate antibodies against b. besnoiti in a total of 2014 cattle serum samples from two states from brazil. all samples were evaluated by ifat and part of the positive sera was teste ... | 2014 | 24290901 |
| blood-feeding patterns of horse flies in the french pyrenees. | horse flies can mechanically transmit besnoitia besnoiti, the agent of bovine besnoitiosis. although previously limited to enzootic areas, especially the french pyrenees mountains, bovine besnoitiosis is now considered a re-emerging disease in western europe. to improve understanding of the role of horse flies as mechanical vectors, this study investigated their blood-feeding ecology in the eastern french pyrenees, in two high-altitude summer pastures whose main domestic ungulates were cattle, a ... | 2014 | 24210525 |
| bovine besnoitiosis in switzerland: imported cases and local transmission. | bovine besnoitiosis is an economically important disease of cattle, caused by besnoitia besnoiti (protozoa, apicomplexa). a considerable spreading of this parasitic infection has been observed in europe in the last ten years, mainly related to animal trade. in order to investigate the possibility of b. besnoiti being unnoticed introduced and getting established in switzerland through the import of breeding cattle from france, a total of 767 animals (650 cattle imported from france and 117 cattle ... | 2013 | 24120579 |
| combination of monoclonal antibodies improves immunohistochemical diagnosis of neospora caninum. | histological analysis is commonly used for a conclusive diagnosis of neosporosis. immunohistochemistry (ihc) using monoclonal (mab) and polyclonal (pab) antibodies can improve diagnosis; however, the use of pab may induce cross-reactivity with other related parasites. the aims of this study were to compare the performance of mabs and their combinations with that of pab in ihc and evaluate the usefulness of mab to identify neospora caninum infection in aborted bovine fetal tissues. for this purpo ... | 2013 | 23927916 |
| a century of bovine besnoitiosis: an unknown disease re-emerging in europe. | bovine besnoitiosis, which is caused by the cyst-forming apicomplexan parasite besnoitia besnoiti, is a chronic and debilitating vector-borne disease characterized by both cutaneous and systemic manifestations. in europe, this parasitic disease appeared in a few restricted areas in france and portugal since the first recorded cases in the beginning of the 20th century. however, at present, the disease is considered to be re-emerging by the european food safety authority due to an increased numbe ... | 2013 | 23830145 |
| first serosurvey of besnoitia spp. infection in wild european ruminants in spain. | besnoitia besnoiti has been reported to affect cattle, wildebeest, kudu and impala, and b. tarandi other wild ruminants (caribou, reindeer, mule deer and musk ox), causing similar characteristic clinical signs and lesions. however, both besnoitia species have been reported in different geographical areas and the link between the sylvatic and domestic life cycles of besnoita spp. in wild ruminants and cattle remains unknown. the aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of specific antibodie ... | 2013 | 23790546 |
| chronic bovine besnoitiosis: intra-organ parasite distribution, parasite loads and parasite-associated lesions in subclinical cases. | bovine besnoitiosis caused by besnoitia besnoiti is a chronic and debilitating disease. the most characteristic clinical signs of chronic besnoitiosis are visible tissue cysts in the scleral conjunctiva and the vagina, thickened skin and a generally poor body condition. however, many seropositive animals remain subclinically infected, and the role that these animals may play in spreading the disease is not known. the aim of the present study was to assess the intra-organ parasite distribution, t ... | 2013 | 23680543 |
| identification of besnoitia besnoiti proteins that showed differences in abundance between tachyzoite and bradyzoite stages by difference gel electrophoresis. | bovine besnoitiosis is a chronic and debilitating disease, caused by the apicomplexan parasite besnoitia besnoiti. infection of cattle by b. besnoiti is governed by the tachyzoite stage, which is related to acute infection, and the bradyzoite stage gathered into macroscopic cysts located in subcutaneous tissue in the skin, mucosal membranes and sclera conjunctiva and related to persistence and chronic infection. however, the entire life cycle of this parasite and the molecular mechanisms underly ... | 2013 | 23594379 |
| development of early tissue cysts and associated pathology of besnoitia besnoiti in a naturally infected bull (bos taurus) from south africa. | besnoitia besnoiti is an apicomplexan that causes serious economic loss in cattle in many countries and the disease is now spreading in europe. at least 2 phases of bovine besnoitiosis are recognized clinically. an acute febrile phase characterized by anasarca and necrosis of skin is associated with multiplication of tachyzoites in vascular endothelium; this phase is short-lived and rarely diagnosed. chronic besnoitiosis characterized by dermal lesions is associated with the presence of macrosco ... | 2013 | 23327488 |
| novel tools for the diagnosis and differentiation of acute and chronic bovine besnoitiosis. | diagnosis of acute bovine besnoitiosis is a major diagnostic problem. we developed diagnostic tests to serologically diagnose and differentiate acute and chronic cases of bovine besnoitiosis using affinity purified antigens of besnoitia besnoiti tachyzoites in immunoblots and in both, a conventional elisa and an avidity elisa. sera of acutely and chronically infected cattle were investigated using these tests. acutely infected cattle initially recognised an antigen of 74 kda relative molecular m ... | 2013 | 23160022 |
| participatory diagnosis and prioritization of constraints to cattle production in some smallholder farming areas of zimbabwe. | a participatory epidemiological study was conducted to identify and prioritize constraints to livestock health and production on smallholder farms in sanyati and gokwe districts of zimbabwe. questionnaires were administered to 294 randomly selected livestock owners across the two districts. livestock diseases (29% of the respondents), high cost of drugs (18.21%), weak veterinary extension (15.18%), inadequate grazing (13.60%), inadequate water (13.54%), and livestock thefts (10.44%) were the maj ... | 2013 | 23149306 |
| [first cases of besnoitiosis in cattle in switzerland]. | bovine besnoitiosis has been diagnosed in neighboring countries but not in switzerland so far. this disease occurs endemically in france and focal outbreaks have been reported in germany and italy. to determine if besnoitia besnoiti is introduced into switzerland through the import of breeding cattle from france, a systematic serological survey was performed. a total of 412 breeding cattle (from 114 farms) imported from france into switzerland between 2005 and 2011, were serologically examined f ... | 2012 | 23117988 |
| development of a protocol testing the ability of stomoxys calcitrans (linnaeus, 1758) (diptera: muscidae) to transmit besnoitia besnoiti (henry, 1913) (apicomplexa: sarcocystidae). | cattle besnoitiosis due to the cyst-forming coccidian parasite besnoitia besnoiti has recently been reported in expansion in europe since the end of the twentieth century. the b. besnoiti life cycle and many epidemiological traits are still poorly known. hematophagous flies, including the worldwide-distributed stomoxys calcitrans, could be mechanical vectors in the contamination of mouthparts after the puncture of cutaneous cysts or ingestion of infected blood. in this study, a protocol is prese ... | 2013 | 23064799 |
| serological evidence of besnoitia spp. infection in canadian wild ruminants and strong cross-reaction between besnoitia besnoiti and besnoitia tarandi. | bovine besnoitiosis, caused by besnoitia besnoiti, is considered to be emergent in europe and responsible for severe economic losses due to the chronic and debilitating course of the disease but has not been reported in north america. besnoitia tarandi is a related species and it has been reported in reindeer and caribou from different locations of the arctic pole, including north america. diagnosis of clinical besnoitiosis is largely based on the recognition of dermal grossly visible tissue cys ... | 2012 | 22795672 |
| large-scale serosurvey of besnoitia besnoiti in free-living carnivores in spain. | the disease bovine besnoitiosis is responsible for severe economic losses caused by the protozoan besnoitia besnoiti. the identity of the definitive host (dh) of this parasite has yet to be determined, although it is presumed to be a carnivore. with the aim of advancing in the identification of b. besnoiti dh, a necessary step in implementing control strategies, the contact rate of 205 free-roaming carnivores with this parasite in spain was studied. the study included 16 wolves (canis lupus), 41 ... | 2012 | 22770702 |
| an inter-laboratory comparative study of serological tools employed in the diagnosis of besnoitia besnoiti infection in bovines. | bovine besnoitiosis is considered an emerging chronic and debilitating disease in europe. many infections remain subclinical, and the only sign of disease is the presence of parasitic cysts in the sclera and conjunctiva. serological tests are useful for detecting asymptomatic cattle/sub-clinical infections for control purposes, as there are no effective drugs or vaccines. for this purpose, diagnostic tools need to be further standardized. thus, the aim of this study was to compare the serologica ... | 2013 | 22429475 |