Sarcocystis infection in Kedah-Kelantan crossbred cattle and Murrah Buffalo slaughtered in abattoir in Perak, Malaysia

Sarcocystis infection, sarcocystosis or sarcosporidiosis is the disease caused by zoonotic intracellular protozoan parasite with an obligatory two-host life cycle namely Sarcocystis spp. The affected animals are mostly asymptomatic and the parasite is discovered only at slaughter. The aim of this study is to determine the status of sarcocystis infection in large ruminants slaughtered in four abattoirs in the state of Perak. A total of eighty-six fresh heart muscle and oesophagus samples were collected between February 2013 to October 2013. The samples were examined macroscopically to look for - sarcocyst. Digestion technique was also used to detect the sarcocyst bradyzoites. Part of the samples were preserved in formalin for histological examination. Out of the 86 animals, 19 (22.0%) animals were infected with Sarcocystis spp. 22.5% (16 of 71) of cattle and 20.0% (3 of 15) of buffalo were diagnosed with sarcocystis infection. Four animals were detected positive from Ipoh abattoir, followed by 9, 4 and 2 animals from Taiping, Teluk Intan and Tapah abattoir respectively. It is strongly recommended to cook meat thoroughly to reduce the incidence of the disease in humans.