Determination of the prevalence of sarcosystis in slaughtered buffaloes of khoy city.

This study aims to determine the incidence of Sarcocystis sp. Infection in slaughtered Buffaloes in the abattoir of Khoy, Iran by digestive method. From March to September 2017,102 slaughtered Buffaloes were investigated for the presence of Macroscopic Sarcocystis by direct observation. Then from each of investigated carcass was classified into groups of age, sex and infected muscle tissue and sampling was done. In the laboratory, the samples were sectioned into 2-3 mm slices and carefully observed for probable macroscopic cysts. The samples were observed using a digestion method. The study showed that out of 39 male buffaloes, 10 (25.64%) and out of 63 female buffaloes, 16 (25.40%) were positive in terms of infection. No macrocysts were observed in buffaloes. This study showed that the digestion method is better than the observational method in the diagnosis of buffaloes. The data analysis indicated that there is a statistically significant difference between age groups, and the infection rate increased with age (P<0.05). The infection rate was independent of sex, and the difference between males and females was not significant (P>0.05). Also, there was a significant difference between prevalence of Sarcocystis infection in different examined muscles, especially in skeletal muscle (P<0.05).