Jm. Njenga et al., PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM AN EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY OF CAPRINE BESNOITIOSIS IN KENYA, Veterinary research communications, 17(3), 1993, pp. 203-208
Inoculation of cystozoites obtained from natural, chronic cases of cap
rine besnoitiosis produced clinical disease in goats but not in rabbit
s, mice, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats or cattle. Histological examinati
on of tissue sections from the experimental animals showed Besnoitia c
ysts only in goats. This, together with field observations that cattle
reared together with goats having besnoitiosis do not contract the di
sease, suggests that the Besnoitia species that infects goats in Kenya
is host-specific and is not Besnoitia besnoiti. We suggest that the n
ame Besnoitia caprae be adopted for the caprine pathogen.