Investigation of Sarcocystis Infection in Slaughtered Goats in Jahrom Abattoir

Background and Objective: Sarcocyst infection is one of the most common zoonotic protozoan diseases caused by different Sarcocystis spp. Given the importance of this infection in public health, the infection rate of macroscopic and microscopic sarcocysts in slaughtered goats was determined in Jahrom abattoir. Materials and Methods : Between April and June in 2011, six tissues including the esophagus, tongue, diaphragm, shoulder muscles, thigh muscles, and heart of 4925 slaughtered goats were inspected to detect macroscopic sarcocysts in Jahrom abattoir. To detect microscopic cysts, four tissue samples (esophagus, tongue, diaphragm, and heart) from 400 goats free of macroscopic cysts were investigated randomly via impression smear and digestion method. Results: The infection rate of macroscopic cysts was 9.48% and the highest infection rate was observed in the esophagus (91.1%). There was no significant relationship between the infection rate of macroscopic cysts and the age or gender (p value >0.05). The infection rate of microscopic cysts was 59.5% and 100% via impression smear and digestion method, respectively. There was a significant relationship between the infection rate of microscopic cysts and age (p value =0.002), whereas the relationship between the infection rate and age did not constitute statistical significance (p value =0.700). Conclusion: The results showed that digestion method was the most sensitive method for the detection of sarcocystis in goats and 100% of the goats were infected by this method. Thus for the prevention of human infection, the meat should be frozen or cooked sufficiently before consumption irrespective of the results of carcass inspection.