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Title: SARCOCYSTIS NEURONA INFECTIONS IN RACCOONS (PROCYON LOTOR): EVIDENCE FOR NATURAL INFECTION WITH SARCOCYSTS, TRANSMISSION OF INFECTION TO OPOSSUMS (DIDELPHIS VIRGINIANA), AND EXPERIMENTAL INDUCTION OF NEUROLOGIC DISEASE IN

Author
item Dubey, Jitender
item SAVILLE, W. - OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
item STANEK, J - OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
item LINDSAY, D - VIRGINIA TECH
item Rosenthal, Benjamin
item OGLESBEE, M - OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
item ROSYPAL, A - VIRGINIA TECH
item NJOKU, C - OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
item Shen, Samuel
item Kwok, Oliver

Submitted to: Veterinary Parasitology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/6/2001
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Sarcocystis neurona is a single-celled parasite of horses and it causes a fatal disease, equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) in horses in America. Its complete life cycle is unknown. Opossums are its reservoir hosts and excrete a resistant-stage in their feces. How opossums become infected with the parasite is not fully known. Scientists at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and the Ohio State University have found that raccoon is a natural host for this parasite and opossums can become infected by eating road-killed infected raccoons. These results will be of interest to parasitologists, biologists and horse owners.

Technical Abstract: Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a serious neurologic disease of horses in the Americas and Sarcocystis neurona is the most common etiologic agent. The distribution of S. neurona infections follows the geographical distributions of its definitive hosts, opossums (Didelphis virginiana, Didelphis albiventris). Recently, cats and skunks were reported as experimental and armadillos as natural intermediate hosts of S. neurona. In the present report, raccoons (Procyon lotor) were identified as a natural intermediate host of S. neurona. Two laboratory-raised opossums were found to shed S. neurona-like sporocysts after ingesting tongues of naturally-infected raccoons. Interferon-gamma gene knockout (KO) mice fed raccoon- opossum-derived sporocysts developed neurologic signs. S. neurona was identified immunohistochemically in tissues of KO mice fed sporocysts and the parasite was isolated in cell cultures inoculated with infected KO mouse tissues. The DNA obtained from the tongue of a naturally-infected raccoon, brains of KO mice that had neurologic signs, and from the organisms recovered in cell cultures inoculated with brains of neurologic KO mice, corresponded to that of S. neurona. Two raccoons fed mature S. neurona sarcocysts did not shed sporocysts in their feces, indicating raccoons are not likely to be its definitive host. Two raccoons fed sporocysts from opossum feces developed clinical illness and S. neurona-associated encephalomyelitis was found in raccoons killed 14 and 22 days after feeding sporocysts;