BCSE (Basic & Clinical Sciences Examination) · USA / Canada · ICVA; administered through CVMA-NEB and AVMA-ECFVG
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersBlood and gut protozoa of domestic animals, including trypanosomes, Babesia, Theileria and coccidia, with Anaplasma taught alongside, and their diagnosis and treatment.
In the exams: ICAR AICE-JRF core group 06; ICAR AIEEA-PG 13 (Parasitology)
NAVLE / BCSE (North America)
Clinical cases: anaplasmosis in adult beef cattle, bovine trichomonosis in bulls, cryptosporidiosis and coccidiosis in calves, giardiasis and Tritrichomonas in dogs and cats, toxoplasmosis and zoonotic advice, EPM in horses, Neospora abortion, Leishmania and Babesia in travelled or fighting dogs.
How our questions for BCSE spread across the units of Veterinary Protozoology. Difficulty: 2 easy, 24 medium, 5 hard.
| Trichomonas | 6 | |
| Toxoplasma | 4 | |
| Cryptosporidium | 4 | |
| Giardia | 4 | |
| Anaplasma (rickettsial, taught alongside protozoa) | 3 | |
| Antiprotozoal chemotherapy | 3 | |
| Histomonas | 2 | |
| Diagnosis of protozoal infections | 2 | |
| Trypanosoma and surra | 1 | |
| Babesia | 1 | |
| Eimeria and coccidiosis | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
A young dog from the southern United States dies suddenly with acute myocarditis; amastigotes are found in cardiac muscle cells. The vector of the likely parasite is a:
D. Triatomine bug
Amastigotes in myocardium in a dog from the Americas indicate Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas disease), a stercorarian transmitted by triatomine bug faeces. Sand flies carry Leishmania, whose amastigotes are in macrophages rather than heart muscle.
Further reading: Sykes, Greene's Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat (5th ed.)
In a herd with endemic anaplasmosis, which management practice most directly reduces iatrogenic spread?
A. A new needle for each animal, and disinfecting dehorning and castration instruments between animals
A. marginale is transmitted mechanically by blood on needles and instruments as well as by ticks and flies. Babesia vaccination, copper and anthelmintics do not address this route.
Further reading: Taylor, Coop & Wall, Veterinary Parasitology (4th ed.)
A 500 kg cow with anaplasmosis is to receive long-acting oxytetracycline at 20 mg/kg intramuscularly; the product contains 200 mg/mL. The total volume is:
B. 50 mL
Dose = 500 x 20 = 10,000 mg; 10,000 / 200 = 50 mL. 25 mL corresponds to the 10 mg/kg daily conventional rate; 5 and 100 mL are arithmetic slips. Large volumes are divided between injection sites according to the label — confirm against the product label and your national formulary.
Further reading: Taylor, Coop & Wall, Veterinary Parasitology (4th ed.)
In a dairy herd with endemic Neospora caninum, the route that most maintains infection from one generation to the next is:
D. Transplacental transmission from infected dams to their calves
Vertical transmission is highly efficient, so infected heifers born to infected dams perpetuate infection even without dogs. Neospora is not venereal or tick-borne in cattle, and cattle do not eat meat.
Further reading: Constable et al., Veterinary Medicine (11th ed.)
A beef herd using natural service has low pregnancy rates, many cows returning to service at irregular intervals and a prolonged calving season. The bulls are aged 5–7 years and appear healthy. The most appropriate next step is:
C. Collect preputial smegma from the bulls for Tritrichomonas foetus culture and PCR
Early embryonic death with irregular returns in a naturally bred herd, with older bulls (silent persistent carriers), points to trichomonosis (or campylobacteriosis). Preputial sampling of bulls is the diagnostic step. Neospora typically causes mid-gestation abortion.
Further reading: MSD Veterinary Manual
Why are older bulls (over about 3–4 years) more likely than young bulls to remain chronically infected with Tritrichomonas foetus?
C. Their preputial epithelium has deeper crypts that harbour the parasite
Deeper epithelial crypts in older bulls allow persistent infection, so young virgin bulls are preferred. Serum antibody and vaccination do not explain this; AI prevents infection.
Further reading: Taylor, Coop & Wall, Veterinary Parasitology (4th ed.)
A 6-month-old pedigree kitten from a cattery has chronic large-bowel diarrhoea with mucus and fresh blood; a fresh wet smear shows organisms with jerky forward motion and an undulating membrane. The most likely organism and treatment are:
C. Tritrichomonas foetus; ronidazole
Jerky motion with an undulating membrane distinguishes T. foetus from the falling-leaf motion of Giardia. Ronidazole is the drug most used (about 30 mg/kg orally once daily for 14 days is widely cited — confirm against the product label and your national formulary), with care over neurotoxicity.
Further reading: Sykes, Greene's Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat (5th ed.)
Accidental access of horses to cattle feed containing monensin is dangerous because:
B. Horses are highly sensitive to ionophore toxicity, which damages cardiac and skeletal muscle
Ionophores disrupt cellular ion gradients; horses have a very low tolerance, and poisoning causes myocardial necrosis and death. Monensin is an ionophore, not a nitroimidazole.
Further reading: MSD Veterinary Manual
Which clinical sign is typical of histomonosis in turkeys?
A. Sulphur-yellow droppings
Sulphur-yellow droppings with dullness and drooping wings are typical; the dark head is not reliable. Twisted neck suggests Newcastle disease or vitamin deficiency; sinus swelling suggests mycoplasmosis.
Further reading: Taylor, Coop & Wall, Veterinary Parasitology (4th ed.)
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