Prevalence and species identification of Sarcocystis in raw hamburgers distributed in Yazd, Iran using PCR-RFLP

Introduction: Hamburger is a popular type of fast foods consumed all over the world. Sarcocystis spp. is a zoonotic parasitic pathogen which endangers safety of meat and meat products. The present study describes the prevalence rate of Sarcocystis spp. in hamburgers in Yazd, Iran using PCR-RFLP. Materials and methods: Raw hamburger samples (100 traditional and 90 industrial) from central region of Iran, Yazd were randomly selected. The genomic DNA was extracted using salting out method. Detection and identification of Sarcocystis isolates was performed using PCR-RFLP. Results: The results showed that 77.9% of all tested hamburger samples were infected with Sarcocystis spp. The infection rate in the traditional hamburger (87%) was significantly (p<0.05) higher than the industrial ones (67.8%). The rate of S. cruzi, S. hirsuta and S. hominis in the traditional hamburger samples, was 39%, 61% and 54% respectively while the rate of S. cruzi, S. hirsuta and S. hominis in the industrial hamburgers was 67.8%, 58.9% and 57.8%. S. cruzi, respectively. The rate was significantly (p<0.05) higher in industrial hamburgers than in the traditional ones. No statistical association was found between percentage of meat content and the rate of contamination in the industrial hamburger (p>0.05). Conclusion: Having zoonotic significance, considerable infestation rate of S. hominis seems to be high in hamburgers of this region of Iran. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first of its own kind carried out in hamburger samples in Iran.