1
|
Amairia S, Jbeli M, Mrabet S, Mahjoubi Jebabli L, Gharbi M. Molecular Prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. and Toxoplasma gondii in Slaughtered Equids in Northern Tunisia. J Equine Vet Sci 2023; 129:104894. [PMID: 37506984 DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2023.104894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 07/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Sarcocystis spp. and Toxoplasma gondii are two apicomplexan protozoa that infect a broad range of vertebrates, however, little is known about the infection of equids with these parasites. A total of 184 slaughtered equids from slaughterhouses of Bizerte and Tunis located in Northern Tunisia, were examined for meat infections with Sarcocystis spp. and T. gondii by PCR. The prevalence of infections with Sarcocystis spp. and T. gondii were 38% (95% CI: 31-45) and 39.7% (95% CI: 32.6-46.7), respectively. The highest prevalence of infection with Sarcocystis spp. was observed in donkeys (48.6%; 95% CI: 37.3-60) followed by mules (32.8%; 95%CI: 21.3-44.3), and horses (28.3%; 95% CI: 15.2-41.2) (P = .04). Similarly, the highest prevalence of infection with T. gondii was also observed in donkeys (66.2%; 95% CI: 55.4-77), followed by mules (18.7%; 95%CI: 9.2-28.3), and horses (26.1%; 95%CI: 13.4-38.8) (P < .001). The coinfection prevalence was estimated to be 17.4% (95%CI: 11.9-22.9). Taking into consideration that humans can be infected following consumption of infected equid meat with T. gondii and/or some Sarcocystis species, it is important to assess the risk of human infection. Thus, further studies are needed to better understand the epidemiology of these zoonoses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Safa Amairia
- Laboratoire de Parasitologie, University of Manouba, Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles, École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia.
| | - Mounir Jbeli
- Health and Veterinary Control Division, Ministry of Defense, Ksar Saïd Military Base, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Slim Mrabet
- Department of Hygiene, Municipality of Bizerte, Bizerte, Tunisia
| | - Leila Mahjoubi Jebabli
- Tunis Abattoir, Health, Hygiene and Environment Service, Ministry of Interior, Montfleury, Tunisia
| | - Mohamed Gharbi
- Laboratoire de Parasitologie, University of Manouba, Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles, École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Brazilian Horses from Bahia State Are Highly Infected with Sarcocystis bertrami. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12243491. [PMID: 36552411 PMCID: PMC9774797 DOI: 10.3390/ani12243491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The protozoan Sarcocystis bertrami (syn. Sarcocystis fayeri) infects horses and has dogs as definitive hosts. Herein we aimed to detect S. bertrami in Brazilian horses destined for human consumption and to determine the frequency of infection in the examined animals. Muscle fragments from 51 horses were collected in a slaughterhouse in Bahia State during three different seasons of the year. Samples from six tissues from each animal were prepared for macroscopic and microscopic evaluation, using tissue grinding, squash and histology. Sarcocystis sp. was observed in 100% of the examined horses. Selected samples were processed for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Species identification was confirmed using a PCR targeted to the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (cox1). Histological examination revealed sarcocysts with variable sizes and shapes, and dispersed within the muscle fibers. When observed by TEM, the sarcocyst wall was wavy and covered by an electrodense layer. The villar protrusions were digitiform and bent. To our knowledge, this study is the first morphological and molecular confirmation of S. bertrami in horses in Brazil and South America.
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhang M, Wei K, Wu Z, Sun J, Hu J, Deng S, Tao J. Morphological and molecular characterization of a Sarcocystis species infecting donkeys from China. Parasitol Res 2022; 121:2917-2926. [PMID: 35941324 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-022-07616-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
There is considerable confusion concerning the relationships among species of Sarcocystis found in donkeys and horses. Here, we describe a Sarcocystis species in Chinese donkeys (Equus asinus). Sarcocysts were found in 12 of 32 (37.5%) adult donkeys. By light microscopy, they were divided into two types, thin-walled and thick-walled. The thin-walled were macroscopic (up to 320 μm wide) and had short club-like protrusions (up to 2.7 μm long); the thick-walled were microscopic (up to 135 μm wide) and had villar protrusions (up to 5.4 μm long). Ultrastructures of the two types exhibited similar morphological characteristics, including bundled microtubules in the core of the villar protrusions penetrating diagonally into the ground substance, similar to wall type 11c. Three genetic markers, 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, and mitochondrial cox1, obtained from the two morphotypes were sequenced and analyzed. The sequences of the three loci in the two morphotypes presented high intraspecific similarities of 97.2-99.5%, 97.8-99.6% and 99.0 - 99.9%, respectively. The most similar sequences in GenBank to the newly obtained 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA and cox1 sequences were those of Sarcocystis spp. in horses, with similarities of 90.0 - 97.5%, 94.7 - 95.1%, and 82.6 - 84.5%, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis using the three genetic markers indicated that the Sarcocystis sp. in donkeys formed an individual clade most closely related to a clade encompassing Sarcocystis spp. in horses. Further studies are needed for taxonomic identification of sarcocysts in donkeys because the Sarcocystis species in donkeys and horses are not successfully cross transmissible despite morphological similarities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mingzhu Zhang
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences and Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded Environments, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China
| | - Kaiwen Wei
- School of Biological Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China
| | - Zhipeng Wu
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences and Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded Environments, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China
| | - Jun Sun
- School of Biological Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China
| | - Junjie Hu
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences and Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded Environments, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China.
| | - Shuangsheng Deng
- School of Biological Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China
| | - Jianping Tao
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Gondim LFP, Soares RM, Moré G, Jesus RFD, Llano HAB. Sarcocystis neurona and related Sarcocystis spp. shed by opossums (Didelphis spp.) in South America. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2021; 30:e006521. [PMID: 34259741 DOI: 10.1590/s1984-29612021059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Protozoan parasites of the genus Sarcocystis are obligatory heteroxenous cyst-forming coccidia that infect a wide variety of animals and encompass approximately 200 described species. At least four Sarcocystis spp. (S. falcatula, S. neurona, S. lindsayi and S. speeri) use opossums (Didelphis spp.) as definitive hosts, and two of them, S. neurona and S. falcatula, are known to cause disease in horses and birds, respectively. Opossums are restricted to the Americas, but their distribution in the Americas is heterogeneous. Five Didelphis spp. are distributed in South America (D. aurita, D. albiventris, D. marsupialis, D. imperfecta and D. pernigra) whereas just one opossum species (D. virginiana) is found in North America. Studies conducted in the last decades show that Sarcocystis spp., derived from South American Didelphis spp., have biological and genetic differences in relation to Sarcocystis spp. shed by the North American opossum D. virginiana. The aim of this review was to address the peculiar scenario of Sarcocystis species shed by South American opossums, with a special focus on diagnosis, epidemiology, and animal infections, as well as the genetic characteristics of these parasites.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luís Fernando Pita Gondim
- Departamento de Anatomia, Patologia e Clínicas, Escola de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade Federal da Bahia - UFBA, Salvador, BA, Brasil
| | - Rodrigo Martins Soares
- Departamento de Medicina Preventiva e Saúde Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo - USP, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
| | - Gastón Moré
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Laboratorio de Inmunoparasitología, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Rogério Fernando de Jesus
- Departamento de Anatomia, Patologia e Clínicas, Escola de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade Federal da Bahia - UFBA, Salvador, BA, Brasil
| | - Horwald Alexander Bedoya Llano
- Grupo de Investigación - GINVER, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria, Corporación Universitaria Remington, Medellín, Colombia
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Rosenthal BM. Zoonotic Sarcocystis. Res Vet Sci 2021; 136:151-157. [PMID: 33626441 DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2021.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2020] [Revised: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Apicomplexan species in the genus Sarcocystis form tissue cysts, in their intermediate hosts, similar to those established in chronic toxoplasmosis. More than 200 species are known, but just a few are known to threaten human health owing to infection in livestock species. Intestinal sarcocystosis occurs when people consume raw or undercooked beef contaminated with Sarcocystis hominis or S. heydorni or undercooked pork contaminated with S. suihominis. Those infections may cause mild enteritis, but most infections are thought to be asymptomatic. People also become dead-end (intermediate) hosts for non-human Sarcocystis spp. after accidentally ingesting sporocysts, leading to extraintestinal sarcocystosis. The clinical spectrum may range from asymptomatic muscle cysts to a severe, acute, eosinophilic myositis associated with systemic symptoms with peripheral eosinophilia. Most human cases have been described from Southeast Asia, but Sarcocystis parasites have a worldwide distribution, especially where livestock is raised, and human infections in other areas have been described but may be underrecognized.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin M Rosenthal
- Animal Parasitic Disease Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture- Agricultural Research Service, 10300, Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, MD 20705, United States of America.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Ma CL, Ye YL, Wen T, Huang ZM, Pan J, Hu JJ, Tao JP, Song JL. Prevalence and morphological and molecular characteristics of Sarcocystis bertrami in horses in China. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 27:1. [PMID: 31908266 PMCID: PMC6945750 DOI: 10.1051/parasite/2019078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Three cyst-forming Sarcocystis species have been identified in horsemeat; however, there exists considerable confusion concerning their relationships. Here, 74% (34/46) of the examined tissue samples from horses contained sarcocysts based on examination by light microscopy (LM), and the organism was identified as Sarcocystis bertrami based on cyst structure. The S. bertrami cysts were microscopic (up to 6750 μm in length) and exhibited a striated wall with 2.0-5.1 μm villar protrusions (vps) under LM. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations showed that the vps were tightly packed, similar to "type 11c". Four genetic markers (18S, 28S, ITS1 and the mitochondrial cox1 gene) of S. bertrami were sequenced and analyzed. The 28S and ITS1 sequences are the first records for Sarcocystis in horses. The newly obtained sequences of the 18S and cox1 genes both shared the highest similarities with those of S. bertrami and S. fayeri obtained from horses. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 18S, 28S and cox1 sequences revealed that S. bertrami and S. fayeri formed an independent clade within a group comprising Sarcocystis spp. from ruminants and pigs. Therefore, S. bertrami and S. fayeri are considered to represent the same species of Sarcocystis in horses, and S. fayeri is a junior synonym of Sarcocystis bertrami.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Li Ma
- School of Biological Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, PR China
| | - Yu-Long Ye
- School of Biological Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, PR China
| | - Tao Wen
- School of Biological Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, PR China
| | - Zhu-Mei Huang
- School of Biological Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, PR China
| | - Jing Pan
- School of Biological Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, PR China
| | - Jun-Jie Hu
- School of Biological Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, PR China - Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Science, Yezin, Nay Pyi Taw 05282, Myanmar
| | - Jian-Ping Tao
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, PR China
| | - Jing-Ling Song
- Electron Microscope Laboratory, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650500, PR China
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Passantino G, Lia RP, Latrofa S, Annoscia G, Šlapeta J, Otranto D, Rossi R, Zizzo N. Sarcocystis bertrami in skeletal muscles of donkeys (Equus africanus asinus) from Southern Italy. VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY- REGIONAL STUDIES AND REPORTS 2019; 16:100283. [PMID: 31027592 DOI: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2019.100283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2018] [Revised: 02/03/2019] [Accepted: 03/11/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Among the protozoa of the genus Sarcocystis (Apicomplexa; Sarcocystidae), Sarcocystis bertrami (syn. Sarcocystis fayeri) is an obligate intracellular parasite of donkeys and horses with worldwide distribution. Here, we report the detection of S. bertrami in naturally infected donkeys from southern Italy and describe their structure by light microscopy (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Protozoal cysts were detected both morphologically and molecularly in skeletal muscles of 28.57% (40/140) donkeys. Mature cysts of S. bertrami were found in skeletal muscle measuring 31-102 μm long and 19-83 μm wide with radially striated thick cyst wall. The high prevalence of infected donkeys suggests that dogs, the definitive hosts of S. bertrami, are contaminating environment with environmentally resistant sporocysts. Considering the increased consumption of raw donkey meat results also suggest a potential risk for human health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Passantino
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Valenzano, Italy.
| | - Riccardo Paolo Lia
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Valenzano, Italy
| | - Stefania Latrofa
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Valenzano, Italy
| | - Giada Annoscia
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Valenzano, Italy
| | - Jan Šlapeta
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Valenzano, Italy; School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Domenico Otranto
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Valenzano, Italy
| | - Roberta Rossi
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy
| | - Nicola Zizzo
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Valenzano, Italy
| |
Collapse
|