Trichinellosis in Slovakia – epidemiological situation in humans and animals (2009–2018)

Abstract

Introduction. Trichinella spp. are zoonotic parasitic nematodes with almost worldwide distribution. The infection can be transmitted through the foodborne route and can cause serious health problems in infected human patients. It is also an economically important issue due to the high financial cost connected with prevention of the disease. Objective. The study aimed to discover trends in the epidemiological situation in people and animals in Slovakia in 2009-2018. Materials and method. Data on human trichinellosis originated from the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic, and data on Trichinella infection in animals from the State Veterinary and Food Administration of the Slovak Republic. A seroepidemiological study on 655 voluntary respondents was performed. Results. Altogether, 29 human cases were reported between 2009-2018, with a maximum of 13 cases in 2011. Males were affected more often (19 cases) than females (10 cases); the average age of patients was 45.1 years. Antibodies to Trichinella were detected in two sera (0.3%): in a serum from one hunter and one veterinarian. In the monitored period, the average prevalence of Trichinella infection was 9.6% in 2,295 red foxes, and 0.04% in 165,643 wild boars. Three (1.7%) of 178 surveyed brown bears were positive. Within the compulsory monitoring of trichinellosis in domestic pigs, none from a total of 1,632,688 pigs were positive. The presence of three species, Trichinella britovi, T. spiralis and T. pseudospiralis, was documented, with T. britovi representing 93.9% of identified isolates. Conclusions. The study indicates that the prevalence of Trichinella infection has not changed considerably with time in Slovakia, and the risk of human infection outbreaks is connected mainly with the consumption of wild boar meat.

Epidemiological perspective associated with principal risk factors of Trichinella spiralis infection in pigs and humans in Egypt

“…Similarly, males were more vulnerable to infection (13.73%) than females (5.13%). This was coordinated with the findings reported by several researchers [28,36,37]. Contrary to the achieved results, several authors recorded a higher prevalence of trichinellosis in females than males [19,35].…”

Untargeted serum metabolomics analysis of Trichinella spiralis-infected mouse

“…spiralis is the most pathogenic to humans [ 1 ]. Approximately 10,000 people are reported to suffer from trichinellosis every year in countries around the world [ 2 ], for example, Italy [ 3 ], Romania [ 4 ], Slovakia [ 5 ], Canada [ 6 ], China [ 7 ], Vietnam [ 8 ], and Ghana [ 9 ]. The clinical manifestations of trichinellosis occur within two phases: the enteric phase and parenteral phase [ 1 – 2 ].…”

Investigation of the Food-Transmitted Parasites Trichinella spp. and Alaria spp. in Wild Boars in Greece by Classical and Molecular Methods and Development of a Novel Real-Time PCR for Alaria spp. Detection

“…Nevertheless, the prevalence found in wild boars in Europe may be characterized as low, as it has been found less than 1% in all cases. In some of the most recent, wide-range epizootiological surveys in Europe where AD methods were implemented, hundreds or thousands of wild boars were examined (in most cases these surveys were analysis of national authorities' records); the prevalence of infection was 0.1% in Portugal [48], 0.17% in Croatia [49], 0.04% in Slovakia [50], 0% in Denmark [51], and 0.51% in Poland [52]. In a survey similar to the present study, conducted in Italy, diaphragm muscle samples of 100 wild boars hunted in two hunting seasons were examined, and none (0%) was found positive to Trichinella larvae [53].…”