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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #111426
Title: SYSTEMIC SARCOCYSTOSIS IN A WILD TURKEY

Author
item Dubey, Jitender
item QUIST, C - SE COOPERATIVE WILDLIFE
item FRITZ, D - ARMY MEDICAL FORT DETRICK

Submitted to: Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Parasites of the genus Sarcocystis are single-celled parasites of livestock and wild animals. Although Sarcocystis is a common infection in livestock, clinical sarcocystosis is rarely reported. Scientists at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and the University of Georgia document acute sarcocystosis in a wild turkey. They document lesions and parasite structure in detail. The results will be of interest to wildlife pathologists, biologists and parasitologists.

Technical Abstract: Accute sarcocystosis was diagnosed in an adult female wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) that was collected from Early County (Georgia, USA) in February of 1998. Marked inflammatory lesions were seen in the heart, lung, and liver and were associated with protozoal schizonts and merozoites. The organisms were identified as Sarcocystis sp. (Acomplexa: Sarcocystidae) based on structure and antigenicity. Protozoa divided by endopolygeny, merozoites lacked rhoptries, and the organisms did not react to anti-S. falcatula antibodies but reacted to anti-S. cruzi antibodies.