This chapter discusses some of the important parasites affecting or found in
the musculoskeletal system of goats. Among them, many are zoonotic in nature.
Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide occurring zoonotic disease belonging to the phylum
Apicomplexa. Toxoplasma stages are found in different parts of goats, including the
musculoskeletal system. Transmission of toxoplasma from goat meat to humans in
India is of low importance as the meat is properly cooked before consumption.
However, it can spread to cats if they are fed with improperly cooked infected meat.
Also, carcasses infected with toxoplasmosis will lose their infectivity very shortly after
the death of the animal. Similarly, sarcocystosis is a silent zoonotic parasitic disease
caused by obligatory intracellular protozoa of the genus Sarcocystis. The main factor
that helps in the control of sarcocystosis in goats is to avoid dogs and cats in the animal
sheds. Besnoitia caprae is found in goats. To date, Besnoitia caprae has not been
assigned with any definitive host and or intermediate hosts. This parasite has a close
resemblance with other species of Besnoitia. Hammondia causes a transient myositis
that may be present in the skeletal muscles of infected goats. In areas of high
endemicity of Oestrus ovis, humans are at high risk of zoonosis and the parasite may
cause ophthalmic infections. Wohlfahrtia magnifica causes traumatic myiasis in the
flesh of goats. Coenurus is treated mainly by the treatment of infected dogs and proper
disposal of intermediate host carcasses. In many countries, trichinellosis is an emerging
disease in goats.
Keywords: Besnoitia caprae, Cysticercus ovis, Coenurus gaigeri, Hammondia hammondi, Multiceps multiceps, Oestrus ovis, Sarcocystis caprae, Toxoplasma gondii, Taenia ovis, Trichinella Wohlfahrtia magnifica.
