High Occurrence of Sarcocystis Infection in Sika Deer Cervus nippon centralis and Japanese Wild Boar Sus scrofa leucomystax and Molecular Characterization of Sarcocystis and Hepatozoon Isolates from their Muscles

Abstract

The prevalence of Sarcocystis cyst (sarcocyst) in muscles from 63 heads of Sika deer (Cervus nippon centralis) and 30 heads of Japanese wild boar (Sus scrofa leucomystax) was investigated. Sarcocysts were detected in 95.2% of deer and 50.0% of wild boar. Immunostaining with antiserum against the toxicity protein of Sarcocystis fayeri, a cause of food poisoning due to raw horsemeat, showed a positive reaction around bradyzoites in the sarcocysts. Hepatozoon sp. was also found from boar muscles in this survey. Phylogenetic analysis of 18S ribosomal DNA indicated Sarcocystis isolates from Sika deer were classified mainly into five groups. Moreover, we suggested Hepatozoon isolates from wild boars might be host specific.