Disseminated Sarcocystis miescheriana infection in a finisher pig in Grenada

Abstract

Abstract Sarcocystis miescheriana infection is an important cause of carcass condemnation during meat inspection. The infection can cause morbidity and mortality in domestic pigs. In this study, an 8‐month‐old finisher pig was presented to a local abattoir for slaughter. Multiple white nodular lesions affecting the meat were observed, resulting in the condemnation of the carcass. Consequently, half of the carcass was submitted to the necropsy diagnostic laboratory in the School of Veterinary Medicine for further evaluation. Grossly, all superficial and deep muscle groups had severe multifocal macrocysts (3 mm × 2 mm × 1 mm) on the surface and extending deep into the skeletal musculature. Histopathology revealed moderate multifocal granulomatous and eosinophilic myositis with intralesional degenerated and intact parasites. Sample genomic DNA sequence analysis of the 18S RNA gene showed 100% identity to S. miescheriana in the GenBank. This is the first report of S. miescheriana in Grenada, West Indies.

Keywords

• Grenada
• necropsy
• phylogeny
• pig
• Sarcocystis miescheriana