Isolation of Sarcocystis Hirsuta from Traditional Hamburger of Iran

Abstract

Background: Sarcocystosis is one of the common zoonotic diseases caused by the parasites of genus Sarcocystis. Sarcocystis is a two-host intracellular protozoan of the Phylum Apicomplexa. Three known species of Sarcosystis can infect cattle as intermediate host: Sarcocystis cruzi, Sarcosystis hirsute, and Sarcosystis hominis that dogs, cats, and humans are their final hosts, respectively. Methods: In this study, a sample of traditional hamburger was purchased from a street food seller in Yazd, Iran. DNA was extracted by salting-out method. To identify Sarcocystis and by using specific primers, fragment of genomic DNA (18s rRNA) was amplified and results of electrophoresis showed the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product with about 953 bp in length indicating presence of the Sarcocystis genus. To identify the species of the parasite, two enzymes, RsaI and BfaI, were used for cutting the amplified fragment. Results of digestion were analyzed using agarose gel electrophoresis. Findings: After digestion with BfaI, the results of gel agarose electrophoresis showed 557 and 397 bp in length bands. Two bands of 577 and 376 bp in length were found after using RsaI that indicated presence of Sarcocystis hirsuta. Conclusion: In this report, Sarcocystis hirsuta was identified in Iranian traditional hamburger that could be related to close association of dogs and cats in farms that is the main reason that food and water are contaminated with feces of cats. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first report of Sarcocystis hirsuta infection in Iranian traditional hamburger.

Keywords

• Sarcocystis hirsuta
• Hamburger
• Polymerase chain reaction- restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP)