besnoitiosis in goats: what is the role of researchers, organizations and professional veterinary communities in such cases

Besnoitiosis is an economically important parasitic disease of high morbidity and low mortality, affecting various domestic and wild animals. although bovine besnoitiosis is prevalent in several parts of the world, natural caprine besnoitiosis has only been reported from kenya, zimbabwe and iran. sheep, cattle, horses, and donkeys grazed in the same area alongside infected goat herds were not infected by this besnoitia sp. unlike b. besnoiti, rabbits and cats were not infected with the caprine benoitiosis. this disease causes severe tissue damage leading to substantial economic losses through reduced meat production, carcass condemnation, lower milk production, declined leather value and male infertility. like some other coccidia and apicomplexa, the parasite s life cycle possibly involves both definitive and intermediate hosts, with goats ingesting protozoan oocysts from contaminated sources. the definitive host(s) and the range of intermediate hosts (other than domestic and wild goats), route of transmission, as well as the main vector(s) of b. caprae are still not identified. during asexual replication in the host s intestinal cells, the parasite forms cysts in various organs, leading to skin lesions, tissue necrosis, edema, and inflammatory reactions. the best method to confirm a diagnosis of this disease in the highly and intermediate infected goats is histopathological examination of the dermis and subcutaneous connective tissue of the tarsal and carpal area, scrotum and skin of frontal region, superficial tendons, epididymis, testes and sclera of the eyes. deposition of b. caprae in the dermis and subcutaneous area of scrotum results in scrotal dermatitis, fibrosis, thickening corrugation, hair loss, acanthosis and hyperkeratosis. adhesion of the tunics to scrotum, testicle, and epididymis affects blood circulation, movement, and ventilation which affect spermatogenesis. the degenerated cysts further resulted in occlusion or destruction of the seminiferous tubules and epididymal ducts and led to orchitis and epididymitis and low fertility. localization of besnitia cysts in endothelial layer of blood vessels and in some instances cyst emboli in blood circulation, partially or completely occludes these vessels and redcue the blood supply to the affected tissue, leading to further degeneration and necrosis of the parenchymal cells. some cysts also result in spermatocele and sperm granuloma formation. improving our knowledge of the complete life cycle, range of susceptible hosts, biology, pathogenesis and infection routes of this protozoa in intermediate and definitive hosts can contribute to development of better control and therapeutic strategies.