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Rubiola S, Pasquariello L, Panebianco F, Capucchio MT, Colombino E, Bordese F, Giobbio E, Fioriello L, Braghin S, Korpysa-Dzirba W, Różycki M, Chiesa F. Macroscopic sarcocystosis in a pig carcass from an Italian abattoir. Vet Res Commun 2023; 47:2271-2277. [PMID: 37166530 DOI: 10.1007/s11259-023-10137-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Different food-safety institutions, including the European Food Safety Authority, encourage monitoring and characterising Sarcocystis spp. in animals and foodstuffs; among meat-producing animals, domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) can host two different Sarcocystis spp., that is Sarcocystis miescheriana and the zoonotic Sarcocystis suihominis. Herein, we report for the first time the presence of macrocysts of Sarcocystis miescheriana in a domestic pig resulting in carcass condemnation. In North-West Italy, in June 2022 the carcass of a clinically healthy sow was condemned due to the detection of multifocal macroscopic whitish fusiform lesions. Affected muscle samples were submitted to histological and molecular analyses targeting the mtDNA cox1 and 18S rRNA genes. At gross examination and histology, well demarcated, oval or elongated macrocysts up to 8 mm in length characterized by a calcified central core surrounded by fibrosis were detected. The molecular amplification and sequencing of the cox1 mtDNA and 18S rRNA genes revealed the presence of Sarcocystis miescheriana DNA in all sampled macrocysts. Our study provides the first molecularly confirmed case of Sarcocystis miescheriana infection in a domestic pig in Italy. The present report highlights the need to increase data related to the occurrence and the prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. in meat-producing animals, and in wild and domestic pigs in particular, taking into account the zoonotic potential of Sarcocystis suihominis and the possible financial losses related to carcass discard due to macroscopic Sarcocystis spp. cysts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selene Rubiola
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Torino, 10095, Italy.
| | - Linda Pasquariello
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Torino, 10095, Italy
| | - Felice Panebianco
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Torino, 10095, Italy
| | - Maria Teresa Capucchio
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Torino, 10095, Italy
| | - Elena Colombino
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Torino, 10095, Italy
| | - Federica Bordese
- ASL Cuneo 1, Dipartimento di Prevenzione, S.C. Igiene degli Alimenti di Origine Animale, Cuneo, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Weronika Korpysa-Dzirba
- Department of Parasitology and Invasive Diseases, National Veterinary Research Institute in Pulawy, Pulawy, 24-100, Poland
| | - Mirosław Różycki
- Department of Preclinical Sciences and Infectious Diseases, Poznań University of Life Science, Poznan, 60-637, Poland
| | - Francesco Chiesa
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Torino, 10095, Italy
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Dalla Costa OA, Dalla Costa FA, Feddern V, Lopes LDS, Coldebella A, Gregory NG, de Lima GJMM. Risk factors associated with pig pre-slaughtering losses. Meat Sci 2019; 155:61-8. [PMID: 31077907 DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2019.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The incidence of non-ambulatory non-injured (NANI), non-ambulatory injured (NAI) and dead pigs on-arrival at three Brazilian slaughterhouses were evaluated in 37,962 pigs to identify risk factors linked to them, besides carcass bruises and limb fractures. Total pre-slaughtering losses were 1.18%, in which NAI (0.39%) and NANI (0.37%) incidences contributed the most. A positive relation between on farm steeper ramp slope >20° and the incidence of NAI, NANI and dead pigs at unloading was found. Farm size, pigs/pen, enthalpy at loading, transportation time, truck loading order, muscle thickness and carcass weight, were identified as risk factors for pre-slaughtering losses. Loading procedures influenced the occurrence of limb fractures and bruises (which are a welfare issue and should be reduced). Therefore, personal training on pre-slaughter handling is essential to reduce the risk factors to improve animal welfare and avoid losses during the pre-slaughter process.
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