Gid

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• Gid (Coenurosis) is a disease of the central nervous system in Goats, caused by Coenurus cerebralis, the larval stage of Taenia multiceps, a tapeworm, which infests the small intestine of carnivores. In 80–90% of cases, the cyst is located in one cerebral hemisphere, whilst in 5–10% of cases, it is localized in the cerebellum; rarely it involves two sites in the brain of the affected animal.
• Read Details: https://www.farmhealthonline.com/disease-management/sheep-diseases/coenurosis/

Clinical signs

• Coenurosis can occur in both an acute and a chronic disease form.
  • The clinical symptoms reported in animals are in coordination, impaired vision, ataxia,
  uncontrolled movements, blindness and paralysis in the legs, occasional circling, fatigue, and
  mortality.
  • The affected animals do not eat and they gradually become weak and die after some days.
  • The neurological clinical sign that develops in 6 to 8 months time.
  • If the animal has the lesion in front of the brain, it lower the head and run forward and
  circling left or right direction depending on the lesion either on the left or right side of
  the brain.
  • Animal with mature coenurus show an acute onset of irritation phenomena including a
  wild depression, salivation , frenzied running and convulsions.
  • The other sign of the disease are dullness , head pressing ataxia , incomplete mastication.
  • Several studies showed that while being more prevalent in the left hemisphere, 96% of the CNS
  cysts are located in the left or right hemisphere and 4% are located in the cerebellum.

Diagnosis and differentials

• Clinical history : Circling movement, anorexia, salivation
  • Clinical findings: Circling, Head shaking , Skull softening, Skin over the bone become
  shrinkage
  • Cyst identification: Cysts are found in the central nervous system. Just 1cm behind the
  respective horn. It composed of semi solid or hard mass.
• Listeriosis
  • Brain abscess
  • Brain Tumour
  • Encephalitis in early stages
  • Meningitis

Life cycle

• The intermediate host is infected through ingestion of T. multiceps eggs.
   Each egg contains an onchosphere which hatches and is activated in the small intestine.
   The onchosphere penetrates the mucosa and is carried via the blood stream to the brain or spinal
  cord. In goats the cysts can form in subcutaneous and muscular sites as well as the brain and spinal
  cord.
   The onchosphere develops into a metacestode larval stage called Coenurosis cerebralis.
   The Coenurosis cerebralis matures into a thin-walled fluid-filled cyst about 5cm in diameter.
   The life cycle is complete when the canine eats the raw infected brain, spinal cord or offal
  contaminated by the fluid from the ruptured cyst.
   The scolex (head of the tapeworm) embeds itself into the wall of the small intestine where it
  begins to grow, and shed new eggs.