Table 1 Signalment, clinical signs and diagnoses of cases of besnoitiosis in European donkeys reported since 2013
From: First report of Besnoitia bennetti in Irish donkeys: an emerging parasitic disease in Europe
Country | Year of reporting | No. of Cases | Age range | Clinical signs | Diagnostics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scleral & conjunctival cysts | Skin Lesions (distribution) | Mucosal lesions (distribution) | Other | Haematology Biochemistry | Histopathology | Serology | Molecular | ||||
Spain (Zafra et al. 2013) [28] | 2013 | 7 | 1-7yo | No | Nose, ears, shoulders perineum | Lower lip | No | NA | Yes | NA | NA |
Belgium (Lienard et al. 2018) [24] | 2018 | 2 | 2yo | Yes | Muzzle, flank, neck | No | Poor BCS, Pruritis, Anorexic | Anaemia eosinophilia, increase gamma globulin fraction | Yes | WB | qPCR, ITS-1 seq Confirmed B. Bennetti |
10yo | yes | Nares | Labial | No | Eosinophilia | No | WB | qPCR negative | |||
United Kingdom (Elsheikha et al. 2020) [23] | 2020 | 8 | 5-20yo | Yes (1 case) | Face, abdomen, penile sheath | Lip | Corneal ulcer, weight loss, Conjunctivitis sarcoids | NA | Yes | IFAT, Immuno blot (1 case) | PCR, microsatellite typing (1 case), Confirmed B. Bennetti |
12 (postmortem) | 5-32yo | Yes | Eyelid, Muzzle | Larynx | Conjunctivitis laminae, Sarcoids | NA | Yes | Immuno blot (4 cases) | NA | ||
Italy (Villa et al. 2021) [25] | 2021 | 2 | 1yo | Yes | Neck, hindlimbs pinnae | No | Poor BCS, dull, rough hair coat | Mild anaemia, hypoalbuminaemia with decreased albumin/globulin ratio, eosinophilia, lymphocytosis, elevated ALP | No | WB | PCR, ITS-1 seq Not confirmed B. Bennetti |
Ireland (this study) | 2023 | 2 | 2yo | Yes | Muzzle, nares | No | No | WNL | Yes | ELISA, IFAT, WB | PCR, ITS-1 seq, microsatellite typing Confirmed B. Bennetti |
2.5yo | Yes | Muzzle | No | sarcoid | WNL | Yes | ELISA, IFAT, WB | PCR, ITS-1 seq, microsatellite typing Confirmed B. Bennetti | |||