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Bovine besnoitiosis in a cattle herd in Sicily: an isolated outbreak or the acknowledgment of an endemicity?

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Abstract

Bovine besnoitiosis is a debilitating infectious disease caused by Besnoitia besnoiti (Apicomplexa; Sarcocystidae). The disease is mainly characterized by cutaneous and systemic signs, infertility in bulls, and abortion in cows. The current study describes an autochthonous outbreak of bovine besnoitiosis in Sicily, Southern Italy, being the first report of B. besnoiti infection in the island so far. In a cattle farm located in Syracuse province, a 4-year-old Belgian blue bull born in Sicily displayed typical clinical signs of the sub-acute/chronic disease phase with thickening of the skin of the scrotum and testicular degeneration. Histological examination of scrotal biopsies revealed the presence of several tissue cysts of B. besnoiti. The serological analysis of the herd using a commercial ELISA revealed a high seroprevalence (45 out of 55; 82%) of antibodies against B. besnoiti. Few seropositive animals (5 out of 45; 11%) showed clinical signs, cysts in vestibulum vaginae (1 out of 31; 3.2%), and testicular degeneration (4 out of 14; 28.6%) assessed by ultrasonographic investigations. The paucity of clinical signs associated with the high seroprevalence in the farm led to hypothesize that bovine besnoitiosis is endemic in the area though further studies are needed. Local practitioners should be more aware of the disease to facilitate the early detection of cases, prevent the spread of infection, and avoid economic losses and animal health problem.

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Data availability

Raw data and derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author EB on request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy

    Ettore Napoli, Giovanni De Benedetto, Stefania Di Giorgio, Alessandra Sfacteria, Gabriele Marino, Francesca Arfuso, Giuseppe Catone & Emanuele Brianti

  2. Department of Animal Pathology, Investigación en Sanidad Animal: Galicia (Grupo INVESAGA), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago, Spain

    Susana Remesar

  3. Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Bari, Italy

    Jairo Mendoza-Roldan

Authors
  1. Ettore Napoli
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Correspondence to Emanuele Brianti.

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All experimental procedures were carried out in accordance with the European legislation regarding the protection of animals used for scientific purposes (European Directive 2010/63), as recognized and adopted by the Italian law (D.Lgs. 26/2014).

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Section Editor: Berit Bangoura

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Napoli, E., Remesar, S., Mendoza-Roldan, J. et al. Bovine besnoitiosis in a cattle herd in Sicily: an isolated outbreak or the acknowledgment of an endemicity?. Parasitol Res 120, 3547–3553 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07298-2

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