| Summary: | Representatives of the genus <i>Sarcocystis</i> are unicellular parasites having a two-host life cycle and infecting mammals, birds, and reptiles. Until now, <i>Sarcocystis</i> spp. have been mainly investigated in definitive and intermediate hosts. Only a few studies have been conducted on the detection of <i>Sarcocystis</i> parasites in water samples. The aim of this research was to examine whether the prevalence of <i>Sarcocystis</i> spp. parasitizing farm animals varies in different types of water bodies. Water samples (<i>n</i> = 150) were collected from the entire territory of Lithuania, dividing water bodies into five groups (lakes, rivers, ponds/canals, swamps, and the inshore zone of the territorial Baltic Sea area). One-liter samples were filtered and subsequently analyzed using nested PCR. At least one of the analyzed <i>Sarcocystis</i> spp. (<i>S</i>. <i>arieticanis</i>, <i>S</i>. <i>bertrami</i>, <i>S</i>. <i>bovifelis</i>, <i>S</i>. <i>capracanis</i>, <i>S</i>. <i>cruzi</i>, <i>S</i>. <i>hirsuta</i>, <i>S</i>. <i>miescheriana</i>, and <i>S</i>. <i>tenella</i>) was determined in all examined samples from water bodies. No significant difference in <i>Sarcocystis</i> spp. prevalence between different types of water sources was detected. Our research proved that selecting appropriate primers is important for the accurate identification of parasites in samples collected from water bodies.
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