Abstract
BackgroundThe 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.MethodsThe 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.ResultsBoth 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.ConclusionsThis 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.
Highlights
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
Besnoitiosis in horses, donkeys, mules and zebras is caused by Besnoitia bennetti, which was first described in Sudan in the 1920s
Visible Besnoitia cysts were observed in sclera, Fig. 1 Besnoitia bennetti cysts in the sclera of the eye of a 5-year-old donkey
Summary
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. The current standard for diagnosing besnoitiosis in donkeys is based on histopathological examination of Elsheikha et al Parasites Vectors (2020) 13:279 tissues, which can take several days to produce results and does not allow differentiation between the different Besnoitia spp. These limitations have driven the development of more efficient alternative methods to histopathology in order to provide accurate information about the etiological agent. A more specific genotyping method based on microsatellite markers has been developed to distinguish B. bennetti from the closely related B. besnoiti and B. tarandi, which cause besnoitiosis in cattle and reindeer, respectively [10]
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