Trichinella spp. infection in horses of Romania: serological and parasitological survey.
Abstract: Herbivorous animals are usually, by virtue of their diet, outside the major transmission cycles of Trichinella spp. However, since 1975, the year of the first report of human trichinellosis caused by the consumption of infected horse meat, the domestic horse has appeared as a novel vector of Trichinella spp. infection to humans, with 15 outbreaks documented in France and Italy. Romania, one of the main countries exporting horses into the European Union (EU), experienced a dramatic increase of Trichinella spp. infection in both domestic pigs and humans in the 1990s. Some Trichinella spiralis-infected horses were exported to the EU during this period. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of Trichinella spp. infections in horses from Romania using both direct and indirect tests. Of 3000 serum samples tested in 2001, none were positive by ELISA using three different Trichinella antigens (crude; excretory/secretory, ES; stg-BSA antigens). Of 2992 serum samples tested in 2002, 17 (0.56%) showed optical density values higher than the cut-off in an ELISA using ES antigens and one was confirmed by western blot (WB). Four of the 17 ELISA positive horses, including the horse with a confirmed serology by WB, were subjected for intensive meat examination at slaughter, but no Trichinella spp. larvae were detected. Further, no Trichinella spp. larvae were detected by trichinelloscopy and artificial digestion of 25,838 horses slaughtered in Alexandria and Timisoara between 2001 and 2004. The false positive results obtained by serology confirm the previous work on the unreliability of serology for detection of Trichinella spp. infection in horses. Furthermore, the lack of detection of Trichinella spp. infected horses by artificial digestion, suggests a very low prevalence of infection in horses in Romania.
Publication Date: 2008-10-22 PubMed ID: 19062194DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2008.10.058Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research investigates the prevalence of Trichinella spp. infections in Romanian horses, exploring direct and indirect tests and concluding that the infection levels appear to be low.
Introduction and Background
- The study starts by explaining how, traditionally, herbivorous animals like horses aren’t a common source of Trichinella spp., a type of parasite that poses risks to human health.
- However, since 1975, after the first reported case of human trichinellosis (a disease caused by Trichinella spp.) from consuming horse meat, horses have emerged as a potential vector for transmitting this infection.
- Romania, which exports many horses to the European Union, witnessed an unfortunate increase in Trichinella spp. infections in pigs and humans in the 1990s – during this timeframe, some infected horses were exported to the EU.
Methodology
- The research itself involved testing samples from Romanian horses for Trichinella spp. infections using both direct and indirect tests.
- Across two different years (2001 and 2002), nearly 6000 serum samples from horses were tested using an ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test and using three different Trichinella antigens.
- Further confirmation of infection was sought via western blot (WB) test.
- Efforts were made to detect Trichinella spp. larvae in horses scheduled for slaughter and through artificial digestion of horse samples in two Romanian locations from 2001 to 2004.
Results
- No positive results were seen in the 3000 samples in 2001. In contrast, 17 out of 2992 samples in 2002 tested higher than the cut-off in the ELISA, and one was confirmed via WB.
- Despite these positive serology results, no larvae were found either in slaughtered horse meat or through artificial digestion procedures, thus suggesting false-positive serology results.
Conclusion
- The results from this study cast doubt on the reliability of serology (study of blood serum) in detecting Trichinella spp. infections in horses.
- The absence of detected infections through artificial digestion suggests a lower prevalence of this parasite in Romanian horses than initially feared.
Cite This Article
APA
Blaga R, Cretu CM, Gherman C, Draghici A, Pozio E, Noeckler K, Kapel CM, Dida I, Cozma V, Boireau P.
(2008).
Trichinella spp. infection in horses of Romania: serological and parasitological survey.
Vet Parasitol, 159(3-4), 285-289.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2008.10.058 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- AFSSA, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, ENVA, UPVM, Joint Research Unit BIPAR, AFSSA LERPAZ, 23 avenue du Général de Gaulle, Maisons-Alfort cedex, France. blecgec@yahoo.com
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Horse Diseases / blood
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / parasitology
- Horses
- Muscle, Skeletal / parasitology
- Romania / epidemiology
- Serologic Tests
- Trichinella / isolation & purification
- Trichinellosis / blood
- Trichinellosis / epidemiology
- Trichinellosis / parasitology
- Trichinellosis / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Różycki M, Korpysa-Dzirba W, Bełcik A, Bilska-Zając E, Gontarczyk A, Kochanowski M, Samorek-Pieróg M, Karamon J, Rubiola S, Chiesa F, Cencek T. Validation Parameters of the Magnetic Stirrer Method for Pooled Sample Digestion for Trichinella spp. in Horse Meat Based on Proficiency Tests Results. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 Nov 2;19(21).
- Franssen F, Deksne G, Esíte Z, Havelaar A, Swart A, van der Giessen J. Trend analysis of Trichinella in a red fox population from a low endemic area using a validated artificial digestion and sequential sieving technique. Vet Res 2014 Nov 28;45(1):120.
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