Besnoittia darlingi Natural Host: Bobcats (Lynx rufus)

Abstract

The parasite known as Besonittia besnoiti is the main cause of bovine besnoitiosis. This disease has a negative impact on the economy in countries that live off of cattle production, but it has not been identified on how it has been transmitted. Since researchers have not been able to find how this parasite is transmitted, it has caused scientist to become clueless on how to prevent it from spreading. By being able to find how the parasite goes through its lifecycle, researchers could find a way to interrupt the lifecycle of Besonitta besoniti. Knowing how to disrupt or interrupt the lifecycle would help scientists understand how to stop the parasite from creating this disease that can harm large populations. This research shows that a definitive host, which is natural for the Besnoittia darlingi, could be the bobcat (Lynx rufus). There has been other experiments to find if there are different species of wildlife that could be a host for the Besonittia darlingi parasite. The main goal of the experiment was to transfer the parasite from a natural definitive host to a domesticated cat, the Felis catus. The results that were concluded stated that bobcats could potentially be an important link between the Besnoititia species and its natural definitive host.