Prevalence and ultrastructure of sarcocystis species infecting camels (camelus dromedaries)‎ slaughtered in riyadh city, Saudi Arabia

Abstract EN

The prevalence of Sarcocystisinfection in the camel (Camelus dromedaries) was estimated as 64% of 624 slaughtered camels at Riyadh abattoirs (K .S.A.).The infection rate was 63% in the diaphragm, 58% in the esophagus, 43% in both skeletal muscles and tongue and only 34% in the heart muscles.

Only microscopic sarcocysts bounded with thin walled primary cyst wall and measured 240 x 12011 m were usually observed in the examined histological preparations from all selected organs.

The ultrastuctural study showed that the cyst wall had many plaside-like protrusions which were irregularly folded.

The protrusions had external no branched knob-like elevations and internal febrile elements.

The ground substance was usually found directly beneath the primary cyst wall and it extended inside the cyst cavity in the form of many septa dividing the interior of the cyst into many compartments containing the parasites (metrocytes and merozoites).

Both metrocytes and merozoites were similar in their fine structure to each other and to Apicomplexa.

Metrocytes underwent endodyogony producing cyst merozoites.

A secondary cyst wall was never observed in the present study.