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Title:   Author  item
                                            Dubey, Jitenderitem
                                            SAVILLE, W. - OHIO STATE UNIVERSITYitem
                                            STANEK, J - OHIO STATE UNIVERSITYitem
                                            LINDSAY, D - VIRGINIA TECHitem
                                            Rosenthal, Benjaminitem
                                            OGLESBEE, M - OHIO STATE UNIVERSITYitem
                                            ROSYPAL, A - VIRGINIA TECHitem
                                            NJOKU, C - OHIO STATE UNIVERSITYitem
                                            Shen, Samuelitem
                                            Kwok, Oliver
  Submitted to: Veterinary Parasitology
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 9/6/2001
                                    Publication  Date: N/A
                                    Citation: N/AInterpretive Summary: Sarcocystis neurona is a single-celled parasite of horses and it causes a fatal disease, equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) in horses in America.  Its complete life cycle is unknown. Opossums are its reservoir hosts and excrete a resistant-stage in their feces.  How opossums become infected with the parasite is  not fully known.  Scientists at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and the Ohio State University have found that raccoon is a natural host for this parasite and opossums can become infected by eating road-killed infected raccoons.  These results will be of interest to parasitologists, biologists and horse owners.
                                Technical Abstract: Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a serious neurologic disease of horses in the Americas and Sarcocystis neurona is the most common etiologic agent.  The distribution of S. neurona infections follows the geographical distributions of its definitive hosts, opossums (Didelphis virginiana, Didelphis  albiventris).  Recently, cats and skunks were reported as experimental and armadillos as natural intermediate hosts of S. neurona.  In the present report, raccoons (Procyon lotor) were identified as a natural intermediate host of S. neurona.  Two laboratory-raised opossums were found to shed S. neurona-like sporocysts after ingesting tongues of naturally-infected raccoons.  Interferon-gamma gene knockout (KO) mice fed raccoon- opossum-derived sporocysts developed  neurologic signs.  S.  neurona was identified immunohistochemically in tissues of KO mice fed sporocysts and the parasite was isolated in cell cultures inoculated with infected KO mouse tissues.  The DNA obtained from the tongue of a naturally-infected raccoon, brains of KO mice that had neurologic signs, and from the organisms recovered in cell cultures inoculated with brains of neurologic KO mice, corresponded to that of S. neurona.  Two raccoons fed mature S. neurona sarcocysts did not shed sporocysts in their feces, indicating raccoons are not likely to be its definitive host.  Two raccoons fed sporocysts from opossum feces developed clinical illness and S. neurona-associated encephalomyelitis was found in raccoons killed 14 and 22 days after feeding sporocysts;


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