Second outbreak of Trichinella pseudospiralis in Europe: clinical patterns, epidemiological investigation and identification of the etiological agent based on the western blot patterns of the patients' serum

Abstract

Trichinellosis is a zoonotic disease due to the ingestion of raw or undercooked meat from animals infected with the larvae of nematodes belonging to the genus Trichinella. In January–February 2015, an outbreak of trichinellosis occurred in Genoa, Northern Italy. The epidemiological link was traced back to a dinner served at an agritourism farm on 31 December 2014, where a majority of the 52 guests had consumed the ‘beef’ steak tartare. The source of infection was not traced; however, it was noted that the amount of beef purchased officially for providing at the dinner did not correspond with that served, suggesting that meat of a different origin had been added to the beef to prepare the steak tartare. Clinical and laboratory data of 30 individuals out of the 52 (57.7%), of which four were hospitalized, were consistent with that of the case definition of trichinellosis. Western blot patterns of the sera from patients with confirmed trichinellosis were similar to the diagnostic pattern identified for the reference sera of Trichinella pseudospiralis but different from those of the control sera tested for patients infected with Trichinella spiralis and Trichinella britovi. Identification of T. pseudospiralis as the aetiological agent responsible for the outbreak of trichinellosis using an indirect tool represents an advancement in the epidemiological investigation of this zoonotic disease.

First report of Trichinella pseudospiralis in a wolf (Canis lupus italicus)

“…In Italy, this nematode species was reported in two owls ( Strix aluco and Athene noctua ), one red kite ( Milvus milvus ), five wild boars ( Sus scrofa ) and one red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) ( Pozio et al, 1999 ; Merialdi et al, 2011 ; Conedera et al, 2014 ; Pozio, 2016 ; Marucci et al, in press ). Furthermore, in Europe, T. pseudospiralis is recognized as the etiological agent of two outbreaks of trichinellosis due to the consumption of wild boar meat, which occurred in France and Italy in 1999 and 2015, respectively ( Ranque et al, 2000 ; Gómez-Morales et al, 2021 ).…”

Animal welfare and zoonosis risk: anti-Trichinella antibodies in breeding pigs farmed under controlled housing conditions

“…Indeed, T. spiralis has been rarely detected in susceptible wild animals (only two reports in red foxes [ 18 ]) and never in locally raised livestock. In the past 20 years, only 26 cases of trichinellosis were documented because of the consumption of T. britovi -infected pork and pork-related products from pigs reared in the wild in the island of Sardinia compared to about 140 cases of trichinellosis acquired through the consumption of T. britovi - or T. pseudospiralis -infected wild boar meat from hunting activities during the same period [ 26 , 27 ] (Gómez-Morales M.A. unpublished data).…”

Trichinellosis in Hospitalized Children and Adults from Western Romania: A 11-Year Retrospective Study

“…Although the global prevalence is difficult to assess, 11 million people worldwide may be infected [16]. T. spiralis, a historically imported species from Eastern Asia, is widespread in the Balkan countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia), Lithuania, Poland and Spain [17]. For over a century, trichinellosis has been recognized in most countries in southeastern Europe (Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Romania) [18].…”