العلاقة بين الأنماط الجينية لطفيلي الاكياس العذرية مع نوعية اللحم في الاغنام

The relationship between Echinococcus genotypes with quality of sheep meat

This study aimed to identify and characterize the genotypes of Echinococcus granulosus isolated from sheep meat in Karbala Governorate Iraq, and evaluate the pathological and physiochemical consequences of hydatid cyst infection in sheep tissues with meat quality.
Over a period ranging from October 2024 to May 2025, sheeps aged 1-6
years were examined during routine post-mortem inspection at Kerbala slaughterhouse liver, lungs, mesentery and muscle were tested to investigate the effect of infection on meat quality parameters (pH, moisture content, protein content, ash content and water activity),
A significant increase of pH, moisture content , protein and nitrogen content,water activity in multiple tissues of the infected animals compared to healthy.and there were significant differences in the tenderness of sheep meat that the presence of hydatid has a strong influence on the quality of the meat,
Molecular characterization of isolates indicated that E. granulosus genotypes, detected in pathological lesions are molecularly diverse strains that also exhibit genetic variability and epidemiological complexity of E. granulosus in Iraq.
The overall distribution of hydatid cysts were as follows: liver (41%), lung (21%), muscle (10%) and mesentery (4%). In five diagnosed cases there was a single cyst (three liver, one lung, one mesentery) and in the remaining five there were multiple cysts (two liver, two lung, one mesentery). Local Iraqi strain PVO52631 was determined by genetic analysis using the cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) gene. One is within a genetic cluster and separates itself on a branch within the genetic tree, indicative of sharing an evolutionary lineage with multiple world strains. Histological examination of infected tissues demonstrated degeneration and inflammatory changes and significant differences were detected in meat parameters compared to healthy controls. The results indicate that infection with hydatid cyst can have a severe effect on histological structure and quality characteristics of meat in sheep.
The results reflect the impact of hydatid cyst infection on the and quality attributes of sheep meat and histological structure and molecular identification of Echinococcus granulosus samples collected from sheep in Holy Karbala City suggested that substantial genetic diversity exists across the endemic area and highlights the potential for local evolutionary diversity of the parasite.