Occurrence of Sarcocystis gigantea macrocysts and high frequency of S. tenella microcysts in sheep from southern Brazil

Minuzzi, Camila Encarnação; Cezar, Alfredo Skrebsky; Bräunig, Patrícia; Portella, Luiza Pires; Rodrigues, Fernando de Souza; Sangioni, Luís Antônio; Vogel, Fernanda Silveira Flores

doi:10.1016/j.vprsr.2018.12.002

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…A previous study carried out in Sardinia showed the oesophagus and abdominal muscles of sheep to be the most affected by these macroscopic species of Sarcocystis, while no macroscopic cysts were found in the diaphragm and heart, in agreement with our results (Pipia et al 2016). Furthermore, S. tenella and S. arieticanis were reported as more prevalent in comparison to S. gigantea and S. medusiformis in China, Brazil, and Iraq (Dong et al 2018;Minuzzi et al 2019;Abdullah 2021).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…However, the cat's defecation behaviour, consisting of burying its faeces, leads to a lower spreading potential of oocysts and sporocysts, decreasing the risk of infection for sheep, possibly explaining the absence of Sarcocystis species transmitted by cats in the sheep examined (Tamponi et al 2020;El-Morsey et al 2021). On the other hand, for T. gondii, where cats also function as definitive hosts, a high prevalence was found, highlighting the possibility that vertical transmission could play an important role in the transmission of this protozoa in sheep (Minuzzi et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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A survey on Apicomplexa protozoa in sheep slaughtered for human consumption

et al. 2022

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Infections with the Apicomplexa Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, and Sarcocystis spp. are common causes of reproductive disorders in sheep. However, few epidemiological studies regarding co-infections with these three protozoa are reported in sheep in Italy. For this reason, this study aims to evaluate possible co-infections with T. gondii, N. caninum, and Sarcocystis spp. in sheep slaughtered for human consumption. From April to July 2019, individual blood, brain, heart, and diaphragm samples were collected from 138 sheep after slaughtering. The presence of IgG anti-Toxoplasma in serum samples was evaluated through ELISA. DNA of the three protozoa was investigated using specific PCRs. Co-infection with T. gondii, N. caninum and Sarcocystis spp. was found in 66.7% of the examined sheep. Antibodies against T. gondii were found in the 36.2% of serum samples. The presence of T. gondii DNA was detected in the 67.4%, 77.5%, and 21.7% of the brain, heart, and diaphragm samples, respectively. Neospora caninum DNA was found in 72.5% of the examined brain samples. Sarcocystis spp. DNA was detected in 92% and 52.2% of the heart and diaphragm samples, respectively. Sequence analysis of the Sarcocystis spp. revealed the sole presence of Sarcocystis tenella. The present study demonstrates that sheep have a high risk of infection with the three Apicomplexa investigated, suggesting the need to adopt adequate measures to prevent the spread of these parasitic infections considering their clinical and economic impact on ovine production. Furthermore, the possible role sheep play in the zoonotic transmission of toxoplasmosis to humans was highlighted.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

A survey on Apicomplexa protozoa in sheep slaughtered for human consumption

et al. 2022

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“…In general, the detection rates of microscopic S. arieticanis and S. tenella is higher as compared to the observation of macrocysts of Sarcocystis spp. worldwide [ 9 , 10 , 30 ]. For instance, some recent studies described occurrence rates of microscopic Sarcocystis spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular Identification of Sarcocystis Species in Sheep from Lithuania

Marandykina-Prakienė

Butkauskas

Gudiškis

et al. 2022

Animals

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Data on the distribution of different Sarcocystis species in various muscles of sheep are scarce. In the present study, 190 diaphragm, oesophagus, and heart muscle samples of 69 sheep raised in Lithuania were examined for the presence of Sarcocystis spp. Under a light microscope, two morphological types of microcysts corresponding to S. arieticanis and S. tenella were detected. Eight and 12 sarcocysts of S. arieticanis and S. tenella, respectively, were isolated and characterised by the sequencing of a portion of cox1. The sequence comparisons revealed the highest similarity between European and Asian isolates of S. arieticanis and S. tenella obtained from domestic sheep and other wild Caprinae hosts. Based on peptic digestion, nested PCR targeting cox1, and sequencing, a 100% infection prevalence of S. arieticanis and S. tenella was observed in the 69 studied animals. The occurrence of S. tenella was significantly higher in the diaphragm than in the oesophagus (χ2 = 13.14, p < 0.001), whereas differences in the prevalence of S. arieticanis in the studied muscle types were insignificant (χ2 = 1.28, p > 0.05). Further molecularly based epidemiological studies are needed to compare the prevalence of Sarcocystis species in various muscles of sheep raised in different geographic regions.

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“…For the detection of microscopic tissue cysts, a direct examination was performed the tissues are separated individually, mixed with PBS (pH 7.3), filtered with gauze in a sterile petri dish and examined under a light microscope at 400x magnification, as described previously by Minuzzi et al (2019). Positive samples were separated, and the cysts were harvested for DNA extraction and PCR.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Macroscopic, histological, and molecular aspects of Sarcocystis spp. infection in tissues of cattle and sheep

Portella

Fernandes

Rodrigues

et al. 2021

Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet.

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The macroscopic, histological, and molecular aspects of Sarcocystis spp. were examined in the tissues of two cattle and four sheep, 16 and eight fragments analyzed respectively, condemned in the slaughterhouse. All 24 samples were collected and analyzed for detecting macrocysts and macroscopic lesions. Subsequently, subdivided for direct examination, polymerase chain reaction and histopathological examination. All sheep tissues samples had grossly white round to oval tissue cysts, ranging from 0.3 to 1 cm in diameter. In contrast, cattle tissues did not present grossly visible cysts but had randomly distributed white-yellow foci with irregular contours. All samples from cattle and sheep had microscopic cysts. In the histological examination of sheep tissues, circular to elongated, encapsulated, basophilic structures ranging from 30 to 3,000 µm in length and 20 to 1,000 µm in width were observed within the skeletal muscle fibers. In cattle tissues, all cardiac muscle four fragments analyzed contained circular to elongated basophilic structures inside cardiomyocytes and in some Purkinje fibers. PCR were performed using the primers: 2L and 3H. In conclusion, all 24 tissues were infected with Sarcocystis spp., and S. gigantea (in sheep) and S. cruzi (in cattle). were the identified species by sequencing.

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Occurrence of Sarcocystis gigantea macrocysts and high frequency of S. tenella microcysts in sheep from southern Brazil

Cited by 6 publications

References 12 publications

A survey on Apicomplexa protozoa in sheep slaughtered for human consumption

A survey on Apicomplexa protozoa in sheep slaughtered for human consumption

Molecular Identification of Sarcocystis Species in Sheep from Lithuania

Macroscopic, histological, and molecular aspects of Sarcocystis spp. infection in tissues of cattle and sheep

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