Severe subcutaneous, muscular and visceral coenurosis in a goat

Abstract

Coenurosis (gid or sturdy) is a zoonotic disease that is caused by Taenia multiceps metacestode. It is common in small ruminants. The cysts in sheep are more cerebral, while are noncerebral in goats. Coenurosis decreases production, and results in the death of the affected animals and in the disposal of the organs or even carcasses in severe infection. The present study describes severe subcutaneous coenuri associated with contamination in other tissues including the skeletal muscles and visceral organs. A remarkable clinical observation was the aggregation of cysts in variable sizes in the subcutaneous tissue of whole body. Subcutaneous tissue is not a common site for cyst formation. Coenurosis was confirmed based on the morphological characteristics of the cysts including the clusters of protoscolices and rostellar hooks.

Keywords

• coenurosis
• taenia multiceps
• coenurus cerebralis
• goat