Sarcocystis spp. in sheep and goats: frequency of infection and species identification by morphological, ultrastructural, and molecular tests in Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

Sarcocystis spp. are cyst-forming coccidia that infect numerous animals species, including several livestock species. Despite the importance of sheep and goat production in Brazil, little it is known about the Sarcocystis species that infect small ruminants in the country and their potential impact on meat condemnation due to the presence of macroscopic cysts of the parasite. The aims of the present study were to determine the frequency of infection by Sarcocystis spp. in goats and sheep intended for human consumption in Bahia State, Brazil, as well as to identify the parasite species in selected samples. The entire tongue, esophagus, and heart were collected from 120 goats and 120 sheep. Tissues were examined for Sarcocystis spp. by macroscopic evaluation, light microscopy, electron microscopy, and molecular tests. Microscopic cysts of Sarcocystis spp. were detected in 95.8 % of sheep and 91.6 % of goats. Using either transmission electron microscopy or partial sequencing of the 18S region of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) for species identification, Sarcocystis tenella and Sarcocystis arieticanis were observed in sheep and Sarcocystis capracanis in goats. Macroscopic cysts were not detected in the analyzed samples. We concluded that goats and sheep destined for human consumption in Bahia possess high frequencies of Sarcocystis infection. Carcass condemnation due to Sarcocystis macrocysts seems to be rare in the studied region. S. arieticanis and S. capracanis were confirmed for the first time by electron microscopy or by molecular tests in small ruminants from Brazil.

First detection and molecular identification of Sarcocystis spp. in small ruminants in North-West Tunisia

“…Bittencourt et al. () examined 53 sheep and 270 goat's samples and found a lower prevalence in sheep (35.8 and 50.7%, respectively). In most of the published studies concerning Sarcocystis spp.…”

“…In most of the published studies concerning Sarcocystis spp. in sheep, high prevalence was reported, reaching 95.8% by light microscopy (Bittencourt et al., ). Two surveys were conducted in Baghdad district (Iraq) and Khorasan province (Iran), showing that all examined sheep samples (100 and 160 isolates, respectively) had microscopic Sarcocystis spp.…”

“…in goats is high, ranging between 77.3% and 99.4%, by microscopy and meat smears examination, respectively (Hu et al., ; Shekarforoush, Razavi, Dehghan, & Sarihi, ). Sarcocystis capracanis was also reported in Brazil (Bahia State), Egypt (Cairo), Iraq (Sulaimany) and Malaysia (Selangor State) (Barham, Stützer, Karanis, Latif, & Neiss, ; Bittencourt et al., ; Kutty et al., ; Morsy et al., ). In China, both S. capracanis and S. hircicanis were reported (Hu et al., ).…”

Molecular Identification of Sarcocystis spp. in Sheep and Cattle by PCR-RFLP from Southwest of Iran

“…Additionally, water buffalo can also serve as an intermediated host for S. cruzi (27,28). In Iran, there are many articles confirmed that the predominant species of Sarcocystis in cattle is S. cruzi (29)(30)(31).…”

Surveillance and diagnosis of zoonotic foodborne parasites

“…Visual inspection for identification of macroscopic cysts of Sarcocystis spp. in the tongue, esophagus, and hearts of animals is the preferred method for detection of sarcocystosis in animal carcasses (Bittencourt et al., ). Some species produce only microscopic cysts that cannot be observed by visual inspection.…”