Pathological and molecular study of ovine diaphragms naturally infected by sarcosystis spp

Abstract EN

Sarcosystis spp.

, has a close relationship with muscles due to its unique localization within skeletal muscle in humans and the animals it infects, as the chronic condition of the disease causes significant economic losses, especially in terms of meat production as a result of the formation of cysts, whether macroscopic or microscopic, in their muscle fibers.

Sarcosystis tenella and Sarcosystis arieticanis are the most important pathogenic cysts forming in sheep.

In this study, 50 samples of diaphragm muscles of sheep slaughtered in the butchers' shops and the Mosul abattoir were examined grossly, histologically, and using PCR technique as a diagnostic tool to identify or diagnose the causative and responsible species of these changes.

The diaphragm samples appeared white and pale on the macroscopic examination, while the tissue lesions were characterized by the presence of Sarcosystis in different numbers and sizes among the muscle fibers, which led to the occurrence of zinker necrosis and intense infiltration of inflammatory cells, especially eosinophil, monocyte, macrophage and giant cells, and also oedema and proliferation of fibroblast.

With the formation of fibrous tissue whose intensity was inferred (mild, medium and intense) by using the masson's trichrome stain.

The results of the molecular analysis using the nested PCR technique indicated that these diagnosed microscopic cysts belong to Sarcosystis tenella with a reaction product of 800bp and 500bp.