Sarcocystis infection, sarcocystosis or sarcosporidiosis is the disease caused by
zoonotic intracellular protozoan parasite with an obligatory two-host life cycle namely
Sarcocystis spp. The affected animals are mostly asymptomatic and the parasite is discovered
only at slaughter. The aim of this study is to determine the status of sarcocystis infection in
large ruminants slaughtered in four abattoirs in the state of Perak. A total of eighty-six fresh
heart muscle and oesophagus samples were collected between February 2013 to October
2013. The samples were examined macroscopically to look for – sarcocyst. Digestion technique
was also used to detect the sarcocyst bradyzoites. Part of the samples were preserved in
formalin for histological examination. Out of the 86 animals, 19 (22.0%) animals were infected
with Sarcocystis spp. 22.5% (16 of 71) of cattle and 20.0% (3 of 15) of buffalo were diagnosed
with sarcocystis infection. Four animals were detected positive from Ipoh abattoir, followed
by 9, 4 and 2 animals from Taiping, Teluk Intan and Tapah abattoir respectively. It is strongly
recommended to cook meat thoroughly to reduce the incidence of the disease in humans.