Sarcocystis spp. prevalence in bovine minced meat: a histological and molecular study


Submitted: 28 July 2014
Accepted: 20 December 2014
Published: 9 June 2015
Abstract Views: 2187
PDF: 1046
HTML: 2106
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

  • Serena Meistro Veterinary Public Health Institute of Piedmont, Liguria and Aosta Valley, Turin (TO), Italy.
  • Simone Peletto Veterinary Public Health Institute of Piedmont, Liguria and Aosta Valley, Turin (TO), Italy.
  • Marzia Pezzolato Veterinary Public Health Institute of Piedmont, Liguria and Aosta Valley, Turin (TO), Italy.
  • Katia Varello Veterinary Public Health Institute of Piedmont, Liguria and Aosta Valley, Turin (TO), Italy.
  • Mario Botta Veterinary Public Health Institute of Piedmont, Liguria and Aosta Valley, Turin (TO), Italy.
  • Guia Richelmi Veterinary Public Health Institute of Piedmont, Liguria and Aosta Valley, Turin (TO), Italy.
  • Claudio Biglia Local Health Unit Turin 1, Italy.
  • Elisa Baioni Veterinary Public Health Institute of Piedmont, Liguria and Aosta Valley, Turin (TO), Italy.
  • Paola Modesto Veterinary Public Health Institute of Piedmont, Liguria and Aosta Valley, Turin (TO), Italy.
  • Pierluigi Acutis Veterinary Public Health Institute of Piedmont, Liguria and Aosta Valley, Turin (TO), Italy.
  • Elena Bozzetta Veterinary Public Health Institute of Piedmont, Liguria and Aosta Valley, Turin (TO), Italy.
Sarcosporidiosis is caused by ingestion of contaminated raw or undercooked bovine meat and, although considered a minor zoonosis, it can represent a threath for immunocompromised people. Aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. in bovine minced meat intended for raw consumption collected from butcher shops and retail stores in Turin’s province (Piedmont region, Northwest Italy). Twenty-five samples were examined in parallel by histology and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The prevalence of infestation of Sarcocystis spp. resulted to be 64% [confidence interval (CI) 95% 42- 82] and 88% (CI 95% 69-97) respectively by histology and PCR. In detail, the prevalence resulted 80% for S. cruzi (CI 95% 59-93), 68% for S. hominis (CI 95% 46-85) and 4% for S. hirsuta (CI 95% 0.10-20). The high prevalence of S. hominis highlights that sarcosporidiosis may constitute a public health problem in Italy, particularly in regions like Piedmont, that has traditional dishes prepared from raw or undercooked bovine meat.

1.
Meistro S, Peletto S, Pezzolato M, Varello K, Botta M, Richelmi G, Biglia C, Baioni E, Modesto P, Acutis P, Bozzetta E. Sarcocystis spp. prevalence in bovine minced meat: a histological and molecular study. Ital J Food Safety [Internet]. 2015 Jun. 9 [cited 2024 Mar. 29];4(2). Available from: https://www.pagepressjournals.org/ijfs/article/view/ijfs.2015.4626

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations