The lack of complete genome sequence information for Mycobacterium caprae complicates a robust differentiation of M. caprae and Mycobacterium bovis. In this study, the presence or absence of M. caprae-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms in lepA and gyrB genes was assessed. The region of difference 4 (RD4) was analyzed for the identification and characterization of M. caprae. Molecular char...

Bovine besnoitiosis, an economically important disease in cattle in some countries of Africa and Asia, is emerging in Europe. The definitive host of Besnoitia besnoiti, the causative agent of bovine besnoitiosis, is unknown and the transmission of the parasite is not completely understood. Sensitive and quantitative DNA detection methods are needed to determine whether serologically positive an...

Besnoitia besnoiti is an economically important tissue cyst-forming apicomplexan of cattle in Africa and Israel. Tissue cysts and bradyzoites of B. besnoiti from the skin of a naturally infected bull were studied by transmission electron microscopy. Tissue cysts enclosed host cell and bradyzoites. Bradyzoites were 6-7.5 x 1.9-2.3 microm in size and contained organelles found in coccidian merozo...

A total of 17 head of cattle presenting with typical "Elephant skin disease" were isolated from the rest of the herd within a beef ranch for further clinical observation. On physical examination, all the animals had characteristic sclero-conjunctival cysts of Besnoitia besnoiti. In addition, some of the animals had characteristic skin nodules on the legs, ears and back. Histological examination...

By DNA-DNA hybridization on microplates, we identified 1,230 strains of staphylococci from human clinical specimens and determined the distribution of species. The 10 Staphylococcus species isolated most often were S. epidermidis (31.3%), S. aureus (23.3%), S. haemolyticus (12.2%), S. caprae (10.7%), S. simulans (4.4%), S. hominis (4.0%), S. capitis (3.9%), S. saprophyticus (3.6%), S. warneri (...

BACKGROUND Equine besnoitiosis, caused by Besnoitia bennetti, and equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), caused by Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi are relevant equine diseases in the Americas that have been scarcely studied in Europe. Thus, a serosurvey of these cystogenic coccidia was carried out in Southern Spain. A cross-sectional study was performed and serum samples from horses...

The capacity of hamster peritoneal cell populations to control viability and growth of Besnoitia and Toxoplasma organisms was assessed in vivo and in vitro. Immunized hamsters reduced the homologous organisms 100- to 10,000-fold over a 5-day period, but the heterologous infection increased 100- to 1,000-fold in numbers, similar as in the nonimmune controls. Passively administered antibody was i...

Besnoitia tarandi tissue cysts were found in naturally-infected reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) from Finland. Infectivity of its tissue cysts, bradyzoites, and tachyzoites to animals and cell culture was studied. The bradyzoites and tissue cysts were not infectious to out-bred mice, rabbits or gerbils. When fed tissue cysts, neither cats nor dogs excreted oocysts. However, the parasite was lethal ...

As a coagulase negative Staphylococcus species, S. caprae is not considered as a clinically-significant member, unlike S. epidermidis. In this report, we describe a case of sepsis resulting from S. caprae infection. This relatively young woman was in generally good health and contracted S. caprae most probably during her treatment of an acute pulmonary embolism. The purpose of this report is to...

Rabbits were infected with a bovine strain of Besnoitia besnoiti parasites derived from VERO cell cultures. Oxytetracycline, given at 30 mg/kg i.m. simultaneously with infection, prevented the development of orchitis. The controls received no treatment. All infected animals showed a transient febrile reaction. It is concluded that oxytetracycline has some therapeutic potential against Besnoitia...