AUTHOR=Zhu Zifu , Chen Yajie , Yang Xu , Wang Lifang , Liu Qun , Liu Jing 

TITLE=Molecular detection and identification of three intracellular parasites of retail mutton products in Beijing, China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.1018788

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2022.1018788

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Sarcocystis</italic> spp., <italic>Neospora caninum</italic> and <italic>Toxoplasma gondii</italic> are globally ubiquitous pathogens, and domestic sheep are considered to be one of the intermediate hosts. 83 myocardial samples of sheep were collected from 12 retail stores in Beijing, China. <italic>Sarcocystis</italic> spp., <italic>N. caninum</italic> and <italic>T. gondii</italic> were identified by PCR amplification of the 18S rRNA gene, Nc-5 gene and 529bp DNA fragment with a prevalence of 86.7% (95% CI: 77.5–93.2) and 43.4% (95% CI: 32.5–54.7) for <italic>Sarcocystis</italic> spp. and <italic>N. caninum</italic> infections, respectively, and no <italic>T. gondii</italic> was detected. The co-infection prevalence of <italic>Sarcocystis</italic> and <italic>N. caninum</italic> was 38.6% (95% CI: 28.1–49.9). Two <italic>Sarcocystis</italic> species were subtyped by analyzing 18SrRNA sequences and were identified as <italic>Sarcocystis tenella</italic> and <italic>Sarcocystis arieticanis</italic>. The prevalence of <italic>S. tenella</italic> and <italic>S. arieticanis</italic> infections was 84.3% (95% CI: 74.7–91.4) and 56.6% (95% CI: 45.3–67.5), respectively. This study shows that sheep have a high risk of infection with <italic>Sarcocystis</italic> and <italic>N. caninum</italic>, suggests that effective prevention measures are needed to avoid the spread of these parasites in sheep. Toxoplasmosis in sheep poses a threat to human and animal health and requires monitoring and preventing continuously.</p>