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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #422822
Research Project: Foodborne Parasites and their Impact on Food Safety

Location: Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory

Title: Molecular identification of bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) from Alaska, USA as a natural definitive host for Sarcocystis infections of bovid and cervid intermediate hosts

Author
item GUPTA, ADITYA - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item BECKMEN, KIMBERLEE - Alaska Department Of Fish And Game
item Rosenthal, Benjamin
item Dubey, Jitender

Submitted to: Journal of Parasitology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/4/2025
Publication Date: 4/7/2025
Citation: Gupta, A., Beckmen, K., Rosenthal, B.M., Dubey, J.P. 2025. Molecular identification of bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) from Alaska, USA as a natural definitive host for Sarcocystis infections of bovid and cervid intermediate hosts. Journal of Parasitology. 61. Article e101259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vprsr.2025.101259.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vprsr.2025.101259

Interpretive Summary: Sarcocystis species are single celled parasites that can cause serious illness in livestock species and humans. These group of parasites are transmitted to intermediate hosts (cattle) via feces of infected carnivores (dogs, cats, wolves, foxes) that eat the infected muscles. Here the authors found for the first time that bald eagles can also shed infective form of the parasite in their feces and transmit it to herbivores. The results will be of interest to biologists, parasitologists, veterinarians and wildlife scientists.

Technical Abstract: Sarcocystis sporocysts were found in intestinal scrapings of two Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) from Alaska, USA. The sporocysts/oocysts were characterized molecularly using Sarcocystis-specific primers targeting the 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, cox1, and a region spanning 18S rRNA, ITS1, and 5.8S rRNA genes. The PCR amplification confirmed the presence of three Sarcocystis species in the bald eagles. They are: either of Sarcocystis bovini-like or Sarcocystis bovifelis-like parasites of European cattle (Bos taurus), Sarcocystis sp. of elk (Cervus canadensis), and either of Sarcocystis tarandi-like of deer (Rangifer tarandus) or Sarcocystis elongata-like parasites of red deer (Cervus elaphus) with identities of >98 %. This is the first report of H. leucocephalus as a definitive host for cervid and bovid infections. It is also the first report of S. bovini-like / S. bovifelis-like and S. tarandi-like / S. elongata-like parasites in the USA. Epidemiologic significance of findings is discussed.