Survey of Sarcocystis Infection in Slaughtered Goats in Kerman Abattoir, Southeast of Iran

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence, distribution pattern and the Sarcocystis sp. involved in slaughtered goat in the Kerman, Iran by macroscopic and microscopic examination. The esophagus, heart, diaphragm and tongue were investigated. Of the 294 goats, 291 (98.97%) were diagnosed as positive for Sarcocystis species by the impression smear method and all 294 were positive by the digestion method. The prevalence of infection of the oesophagus was higher than that of other organs (p<0.05). The infection rate increased with age, although this increase was not significant (p>0.05). The infection rate was independent of sex being 12.58% in males and 14.62% in females (p>0.05). There were no significant differences among the infection rates of the different organs. The sensitivity of the impression smear method compared with that of the digestion method in the diagnosis of infection was 92.85% in heart, 91.49% in oesophagus, 86.73% in tongue and 93.53% in diaphragm. The histopathological study showed a high frequency of microscopic Sarcocystis infection in goat slaughtered.