Besnoitiosis is a

protozoa Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histo ...

n disease of the skin,

subcutis The subcutaneous tissue (), also called the hypodermis, hypoderm (), subcutis, superficial fascia, is the lowermost layer of the integumentary system in vertebrates. The types of cells found in the layer are fibroblasts, adipose cells, and ma ...

, blood vessels, mucous membranes, and other tissues" of animals. It "is endemic in tropical and sub-tropical regions with high infection rate but low mortality"; however, it is rare in other regions. The causative organisms of the cutaneous disease, and the affected animals include: * ''

Besnoitia besnoiti ''Besnoitia besnoiti'' is an apicomplexan protozoan parasite, closely related to ''Toxoplasma gondii'' and ''Neospora caninum,'.'' It is part of a larger genus '' Besnoiti'' affecting multiple animal species, but ''Besnoita besnoiti, can affec ...

'' in

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

(swelling of the lymph nodes, subcutaneous swellings, diarrhea, abortion and infertility) * ''

Besnoitia bennetti ''Besnoitia bennetti'' is a parasite that can cause besnoitiosis infections in donkeys. The range of this organism ranges from Africa to the United States. ''B. bennettii'' shares similar characteristics with Toxoplasma, Neospora, and Sarcocyst ...

'' in

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

s and

donkey The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...

s (characterized by a widespread, serious dermatitis) * ''

Besnoitia jellisoni ''Besnoitia'' is a genus of apicomplexan parasites. Life cycle The life cycle of many of the species in this genus are not known. The life cycle may be complex with various intermediate hosts and vectors including ''Stomoxys ''Stomoxys'' ...

'' and '' B. wallacei'' in

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

s * '' Besnoitia tarandi'' in

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

and

caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

* ''

Besnoitia darlingi ''Besnoitia'' is a genus of apicomplexan parasites. Life cycle The life cycle of many of the species in this genus are not known. The life cycle may be complex with various intermediate hosts and vectors including ''Stomoxys ''Stomoxys'' ...

'' in

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

opossum Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 93 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North ...

s, and

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

s * '' Besnoitia sauriana'' in lizards * Viscerotropic strains of '' B.besnoiti'' in African antelope * An unidentified ''

Besnoitia ''Besnoitia'' is a genus of apicomplexan parasites. Life cycle The life cycle of many of the species in this genus are not known. The life cycle may be complex with various intermediate hosts and vectors including ''Stomoxys'' and ''Tabanidae ...

'' species in

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

References

Veterinary protozoology Protozoal diseases {{veterinary-med-stub