Hunting dogs as sentinel animals for monitoring infections with Trichinella spp. in wildlife

Abstract

BackgroundNematode parasites of the genus Trichinella are important foodborne pathogens transmitted by ingestion of striated muscles harbouring infective larvae. Wild carnivorous and omnivorous animals are the most important reservoirs of these parasites. Hunting activities play an important role in Trichinella spp. epidemiology. The aim of the present work was to assess if serological detection of anti-Trichinella IgG in hunting dogs can be a tool to indirectly monitor Trichinella spp. infections in wildlife.MethodsAn ELISA and a Western blot (Wb) were developed and validated. To validate the assays, serum samples were collected from 598 dogs considered to be Trichinella-free, 15 naturally infected dogs, and six experimentally infected foxes. Sera were tested by ELISA with Trichinella spiralis excretory/secretory antigens. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of ELISA were 100 % (95 % CI: 83.89–100 %) and 95.65 % (95 % CI: 93.69–97.14 %), respectively. Sera from Trichinella-infected dogs/foxes tested by Wb showed a three-band pattern ranging from 48 to 72 kDa. Since the prevalence of Toxocara canis is very high in dogs, the specificity of the ELISA and Wb was further assessed by testing sera for anti-T. canis IgG using T. canis excretory/secretory antigens. No cross-reactivity was observed. To evaluate the test’s reliability in the field, serum samples were collected from wild boar hunting dogs from Central Italy where Trichinella britovi was circulating among wildlife.ResultsOut of 384 hunting dog sera, 189 (49.2 %) tested positive by ELISA and of these, 56 (29.6 %) tested positive by Wb, showing an overall prevalence of 14.6 % (56/384) in the wild boar hunting dog population of the investigated area. The serological prevalence in hunting dogs was significantly (P < 0.001) associated with the hunting district’s altitude. This is in agreement with previous investigations, which had shown that the prevalence of T. britovi in wildlife was higher in mountainous areas than in lowland areas of Italy.ConclusionThe results suggest that the circulation of Trichinella spp. among wildlife can be monitored by testing sera from hunting dogs, which could act as sentinel animals of Trichinella spp. circulation in wildlife.

A Community-Based Study to Estimate the Seroprevalence of Trichinellosis and Echinococcosis in the Roma and Non-Roma Population of Slovakia

“…Humans acquire the infection after the consumption of raw or undercooked meat of infected animals. Hunting activities connected with improper handling of meat and offal can increase the risk of the infection spreading into the domestic cycle and consequently, the risk of human infection [ 1 ]. In Slovakia, trichinellosis occurs primarily in wildlife, but human cases as well as sporadic outbreaks of the disease have also been recorded [ 2 , 3 ].…”

Surrogate hosts: Hunting dogs and recolonizing grey wolves share their endoparasites

“…Transmission could occur when hunting dogs are used for hunting in wolf habitats or when fed with game meat by their owners ( ESCCAP, 2010 , Otranto et al., 2015b ), which usually originates from the same ungulate species that wolves prey on ( Wagner et al., 2012 ). While literature on companion dog parasites is regularly published ( Barutzki and Schaper, 2003 , Barutzki and Schaper, 2011 ), little is known about the parasite fauna of hunting dogs, and it is unlikely that they are identical ( Al-Sabi et al., 2013a , Gómez-Morales et al., 2016 ). The current wolf recolonization of Central Europe is therefore an ideal system to investigate the potential link between a wild apex predator and its domesticated equivalent, since hunting dogs can be examined in the presence and absence of wolves in comparable habitats.…”

Multilocus genotype analysis outlines distinct histories for Trichinella britovi in the neighboring Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia

“…can circulate in a region with a larval burden in host muscles not detectable by direct methods (e.g. artificial digestion) and the presence of the parasite can be only inferred by indirect methods [ 7 , 27 – 29 ]. In Ireland, the sylvatic cycle of T. spiralis existed for dozens of years independently of whether infection among domestic animals or humans had been demonstrated [ 30 ].…”

“…Finally, hunting dogs can also be considered as a possible source of infection for domestic and wild swine, since T. britovi larvae and/or anti- Trichinella antibodies have been detected in these animals [ 29 ]. In Corsica, epidemiological evidence suggests that when a hunting dog dies during hunting, its carcass is usually used to feed domestic pigs (Vallée I., unpublished data).…”