DEBILITATION AND MORTALITY ASSOCIATED WITH BESNOITIOSIS IN FOUR VIRGINIA OPOSSUMS (DIDELPHIS VIRGINIANA)

Abstract

Besnoitia spp. are coccidian parasites that infect a variety of wild and domestic mammals as well as some reptiles. Although infection with Besnoitia is common in Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana), clinical signs or death due to Besnoitia is rare. This manuscript describes four Virginia opossums that had severe clinical disease and inflammation associated with besnoitiosis. Clinical signs included trembling, incoordination, circling, blindness, poor body condition, and sudden death. Gross lesions included parasitic cysts in eyes, skin, and visceral organs. Histologically, cysts were often degenerate and associated with mild to marked inflammation, and amyloidosis was noted in one animal. Polymerase chain reaction and sequencing confirmed Besnoitia darlingi in three of the four opossums.

Metazoan and protozoan pathology of wild opossums (Didelphis virginiana) in Mexico

“…Infection with Besnoitia darlingi has been reported from D. virginiana in several states of the United States of America (Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Texas, and Kansas City) (Shaw et al 2009, Houk et al 2010. Besnoitia infections that do not cause disease have been reported, but mortality only in animals with stress, immunosuppression, or concurrent parasitic infections (Ellis et al 2012). In addition, P. mexicanus and P. caliensis have also been recorded in Venezuela by Díaz-Marcos et al (2011), in Costa Rica by Hernández-Chea et al (2017), and in Colombia by Lenis et al (2018).…”