The wild boar (Sus scrofa, Linnaeus, 1758) as an important reservoir host for Alaria alata in the Baltic region and potential risk of infection in humans

Development of a Novel Method for Identification of Alaria alata Mesocercariae by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

“…The presence of AM in second intermediate and paratenic hosts previously reported in several European countries were all based on the morphological identification of AM and/or molecular methods [ 4 , 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Furthermore, DNA extraction protocols have been established and several different primer pairs developed to examine the genetic diversity of A. alata [ 22 , 23 , 38 , 39 ].…”

“…A total of 61 AM samples from different host individuals were collected during a prevalence study from 2017 to 2020 in Brandenburg, Germany [ 11 ], in collaboration with the Food Inspection and Veterinary Department, Administrative District Görlitz (State of Saxony, Germany), the LADR GmbH Medical Care Center North in Flintbek (State of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany), the local veterinary office in Brodnica (Brodnica, Poland) and the Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment (BIOR) in Riga, Latvia [ 10 , 33 , 34 ].…”

“…One such parasite is Alaria ( A. ) alata , whose mesocercariae (AM) have been found with increased frequency in wild boars in Europe during the past few years [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”

“…In addition, A. alata was recently classified as a zoonotic parasite of risk group 2 by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) in Bern, Switzerland [ 16 ], as well as the Committee on Biological Agents (ABAS) in Germany [ 17 ]. However, based on a specific formula, Ozoliņa et al [ 10 ] demonstrated that the probability for humans becoming infected with AM through consumption of wild boar meat ranges between 0.2% and 2.2%.…”

“…Further studies were reported from France (0.6%) [ 7 ], Italy (1.0%) [ 13 ], northern Serbia (3%) [ 19 ], Austria (6.7%) [ 20 ] and Czech Republic (6.8%) [ 6 ]. However, significantly higher prevalences were observed in north-eastern Poland (44.3%) [ 12 ] and in Latvia (43.9%) [ 10 ].…”