title: Occurrence and first molecular characterization of Sarcocystis spp. in wild boars (Sus scrofa) and domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) in Romania: Public health significance of the isolates.
abstract: Domestic and wild pigs, as intermediate hosts, can harbor tissue cysts of three Sarcocystis species namely S. miescheriana, S. suihominis and S. porcifelis. Out of them, S. suihominis is zoonotic. Romania is a country with high consumption of raw and/or undercooked traditional pork products. This fact may greatly favor the acquiring of the zoonotic Sarcocystis infections by humans, as definitive host. Based on this consideration and in order to investigate the occurrence and public health significance of Sarcocystis spp. in two western counties (Caraş-Severin and Timiş) of Romania, a total of 165 heart samples from hunted wild boars (Sus scrofa, n=101) and home slaughtered domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus, n=64) were screened using microscopic fresh examination and molecular methods. Microscopic examination revealed the presence of sarcocysts in 60.4% of wild boars, and 23.4% of domestic pigs. Genetic characterization of isolates through the PCR-RFLP procedure, targeting the 18S rRNA gene, was successfully achieved for all microscopically positive samples, indicating the presence of a single species, S. miescheriana, in both hosts. The identity of 13 selected S. miescheriana isolates was also confirmed through sequencing. The tested hosts older than 27 months were found to be significantly higher infected (p<0.05) with Sarcocystis than the 6 to ≤27months age group. Although the human infective S. suihominis has not been registered, for a more reliable epidemiological picture, further molecular studies enrolling a larger number of animals and diagnosis on human intestinal Sarcocystis infections are still necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Production and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat's University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine "King Michael I of Romania" Timişoara, Calea Aradului no. 119, 300645 Timişoara, Romania.
authors.forename: Kálmán
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imre
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Production and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat's University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine "King Michael I of Romania" Timişoara, Calea Aradului no. 119, 300645 Timişoara, Romania.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sala
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Production and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat's University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine "King Michael I of Romania" Timişoara, Calea Aradului no. 119, 300645 Timişoara, Romania.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morar
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat's University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine "King Michael I of Romania" Timişoara, Romania. Electronic address: mirela.imre@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mirela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Imre
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry "Marin Drăcea", Romania.
authors.forename: Cătălin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ciontu
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry "Marin Drăcea", Romania; Department of Forestry, Faculty of Horticulture and Forestry, Banat's University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine "King Michael I of Romania" Timişoara, Romania.
authors.forename: Ion
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chisăliță
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Splaiul Independentei no. 91-95, 050095 Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Andreea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dudu
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Production and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat's University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine "King Michael I of Romania" Timişoara, Calea Aradului no. 119, 300645 Timişoara, Romania.
authors.forename: Marius
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matei
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat's University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine "King Michael I of Romania" Timişoara, Romania.
authors.forename: Gheorghe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dărăbuș
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000469:parasitology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011634:Public Health; D012383:Romania / Q000453:epidemiology; D012522:Sarcocystis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000469:parasitology; D013552:Swine / Q000469:parasitology*; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000469:parasitology
keywords: Detection rate; Domestic pig; PCR-RFLP; Romania; Sarcocystis; Wild boar