Title : Prevalence and microscopic studies of mixed sarcocystis infection in naturally infected sheep and goats transmitted to the human in Soran City, Erbil- Iraq
Abstract:
Sarcocystis species are cyst-forming intracellular zoonotic protozoan parasites of the phylum Apicomplexa, which infect several animals, including livestock species. In spite of the significance of sheep and goats as meat- producing animals in Kurdistan –Iraq, little it is known about the prevalence of Sarcocystis species that infect these domestic animals. The current study was carried out to determine the prevalence of infection in sheep and goats by Sarcocystis spp., and its histopathological effects. Oesophagi samples from 400 sheep and 600 goats were collected during the period from August 2018 to July 2019. Samples were surveyed by macroscopic and microscopic examination. The percentage of infection with macroscopic sarcocysts was 38/400 (9.5%) in sheep and 53/600 (8.8%) in goats, all animals infected with macroscopic sarcocysts appeared to be infected with microscopic sarcocysts. The overall percentage of mixed infection with macroscopic and microscopic sarcocysts was 91/1000(9.1%) in both sheep and goats collectively. Statistical analysis revealed that there is no significant difference (p>0.05) between males and females of sheep and goats. Two types of macroscopic sarcocysts were identified in the oesophagi of naturally infected sheep and goats. Depending on morphological features, host specificity, type of infected organ, and previous epidemiological investigation, the sarcocystis assigned to S. gigantea and S.moulei in sheep and goats respectively. Also, microscopic sarcocysts were detected in both animals and considered as S.tenella and S. capracanis in sheep and goats respectively depending on the same bases of identification. The finding of the histological sections confirmed the presence of several histopathological changes within the oesophagi of the infected animals. As a conclusion, sheep and goats destined for human consumption in Erbil, Kurdistan-Iraq possesses high frequencies of Sarcocystis infection. Further investigation was needed to confirm the species of the parasite by molecular and ultrastructural techniques. This is the first study regarding sheep and goats Sarcocystis in Soran, Erbil-Iraq. Keywords. Sarcocystis spp., Esophagus, Morphologic identification. Sheep, Goats, Histopathology, Iraq.
