Retrospective Survey of Human Trichinellosis in a Romanian Infectious Diseases Hospital over a Thirty-Year Interval—The Never-Ending Story

Abstract

Trichinellosis remains a food-safety risk in Romania due to cultural traditions and food behavior. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutical data of all human trichinellosis cases in patients admitted to an Infectious Diseases Hospital from northwestern Romania during a thirty-year interval. Between 1 January 1988 and 31 December 2018, a total of 558 patients were hospitalized with the diagnosis of trichinellosis. The number of cases/year varied between 1 and 86. The source of infection was known for 524 patients, represented by domestic pig meat (n = 484; 92.37%) and wild boar (n = 40; 7.63%). Most patients (410; 73.48%) presented were part of family or group outbreaks. Demographical and clinical data of patients will be presented. Antiparasitic therapy was prescribed in 99.46% of cases, and corticosteroids were prescribed in 77.06% of patients. In total, 48 patients (8.6%) presented complications of trichinellosis: 44 for a single complication (neurological, cardiovascular or respiratory); the others multiple complications. Pregnancy was documented in five patients. No fatalities occurred during the study period. Although the number of hospitalized patients has decreased in the last years, trichinellosis still remains an important public health problem in northwestern Romania.

From wildlife to humans: The global distribution of Trichinella species and genotypes in wildlife and wildlife-associated human trichinellosis

“…Thousands of human infections with Trichinella spp. have occurred in Europe in the last couple decades, but very few of these result in genotyped larvae ( EFSA & ECDC, 2021 ; Lupse et al, 2023 ; Pozio, 2014 ). In Europe, the vast majority of human infections occur from the consumption of non-inspected domestic pigs, with wild boars being the most significant wildlife source of infection.…”

Light microscopical and parasitological analyses revealed the beneficial effects of silver nanoparticles and various myrrh extracts against Trichinella spiralis infection in mice

“…The majority of human infections are caused by eating meat (most commonly pig meat), either raw or improperly cooked, that contains infectious larvae (Gabriël et al, 2023). The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have identified T. spiralis infection as the sixth most serious food‐borne parasite of global concern (Lupșe et al, 2023).…”