Sarcocystis hominis
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Introduction
Humans serve as definitive hosts; cattle as intermediate hosts.
Epidemiology
- cattle are infected as intermediate hosts from human feces contaminated with sporocysts
Pathology
- intestinal infection is acquired by ingestion of raw or incompletely cooked beef that contain tissue cysts (sarcocysts)
- infection is self-limited because asexual reproduction occurs in intermediate host (cattle)
- oocyst formation is limited by the number of sarcocysts ingested
Clinical manifestations
- generally asymptomatic
- transient abdominal pain, diarrhea, or anorexia
Laboratory
- diagnosis is made by recovery of sporocysts in feces
- oocysts are thin-walled & often not dectable or ruptured with release of 2 sporocysts
- sporocysts
- measure 25 by 30 um
- each contains 4 sporozoites
- best seen on wet mount or with acid-fast staining, trichrome stains of little value
- larger than oocysts of Cryptosporidia
Management
no specific therapy exists