Abstract
Sarcocystosis, caused by protozoan parasite Sarcocystis spp., is considered as an unusual zoonotic infection in human. The parasites are ubiquitous and occur in various animals, including reptiles, mammals, birds and possibly fishes. Their life cycle is based on predator-prey relationship. There are two forms of sarcocystosis: (1) intestinal sarcocystosis (in definitive hosts of carnivorous or omnivorous) and (2) muscular sarcocystosis (in intermediate hosts of herbivorous). Humans can act as both definitive and intermediate (dead-end) hosts. Most of the cases of muscular sarcocystosis in humans were identified following accidental autopsies or biopsies. Interest on this parasitic infection has been ignited in the past few years following the series of large human outbreaks in Malaysia. This chapter will highlight the various aspects on sarcocystosis and the gaps in the knowledge of Sarcocystis infection.
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Further Readings
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Case Study
Case Study
A 32-year-old female visited the Wurzburg general hospital with complaints of persistent severe myalgia during last 5 weeks. She had visited Malaysia about 2 months ago, and the symptoms of fever, fatigue, and muscle pain started a week after returning home. Upon examination, the pain was prominent in the upper arms, back, thighs, and calves. Electrocardiograms were unremarkable. Laboratory findings revealed blood eosinophilia and elevated level of creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) of 1127 U/L. Both trichinellosis and toxoplasmosis serology findings were negative. A muscle biopsy specimen taken from tibial muscle and histopathological examination demonstrated Sarcocystis-like cyst filled with nucleated protozoan cells located in the muscle resembling the sarcocysts reported in human and animals in Malaysia. Based on the history, clinical signs and laboratory findings, acute muscular sarcocystosis was postulated. The patient was treated with albendazole (400 mg twice daily) for 14 days and prednisolone for 7 days (80, 40, 20 mg/day in decreasing dosage). The treatment was well tolerated, and improvement with complete subsidence of symptoms was seen during a follow-up examination after 3 weeks.
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What may be the mode of infection in this case?
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What travel advice should be given to a person going for a jungle safari in Malaysia and some neighbouring countries?
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What are the differential diagnoses in a patient presenting with the above signs and symptoms?
Research Questions
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Is the true burden of the disease, especially human intestinal sarcocystosis, under-estimated?
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Will evaluation of periodic local surveillance in both animals and humans provide a better understanding of Sarcocystis-host relationship?
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How to improve our knowledge about the biology and molecular characterization of S. nesbitti?
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Muslim, A., Chin Heo, C. (2022). Sarcocystosis. In: Parija, S.C., Chaudhury, A. (eds) Textbook of Parasitic Zoonoses. Microbial Zoonoses. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7204-0_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7204-0_17
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