ORGANISM’S ROLE IN DISEASE INVESTIGATED

Researchers are investigating the possibility that a common protozoal parasite contributes to neuromuscular disease in horses.

Sarcocystis fayeri, part of a family of organisms known to infect many animals, has recently been found to cause illness in people who eat horsemeat. To see if the organism may pose a threat to the horses themselves, researchers at the University of California–Davis searched for S. fayeri cysts in the muscle tissues in healthy horses as well as in those displaying mild to severe neuromuscular impairment ranging from muscle atrophy and weakness to gait deficits and trouble swallowing.

They found that the number of infected muscles and of sarcocysts per muscle were higher in horses with neuromuscular problems than in healthy horses. The data also showed a possible association between the protozoa and disease in 8.9 percent of the examined cases.

The researchers stress that the relationship they identified does not prove S. fayeri is actually causing disease. Nonetheless, the discovery of protozoa in horses with neuromuscular disease might not always be incidental.

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