The epidemiology of trichinellosis in the Arctic territories of a Far Eastern District of the Russian Federation.

Trichinellosis, a zoonotic disease caused by nematodes of the genus Trichinella, is still a public health concern in the Arctic. The aims of this study were to investigate the seroprevalence of anti-Trichinella IgG in aboriginal peoples of two settlements in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (Russian Federation) on the Arctic coast of the Bering Sea, and to evaluate the survival of Trichinella nativa larvae in local fermented and frozen meat products. A seroprevalence of 24.3% was detected in 259 people tested by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The highest prevalence was detected among people who consumed traditional local foods made from the meat of marine mammals. Trichinella nativa larvae were found to survive for up to 24 months in a fermented and frozen marine mammal meat product called kopalkhen. Since the T. nativa life cycle can be completed in the absence of humans, it can be expected to persist in the environment and therefore remain a cause of morbidity in the human populations living in Arctic regions.

[Possible sources of Trichinella infection in the indigenous population of Chukotka].

Statistical methods confirmed that the dietary intake of traditionally made meat from marine mammals and polar bear could cause Trichinella infection in the residents of the communities of the Chukotka Peninsula.

[The intensity of immune response to T. native antigen in the residents of coastal settlements in the Chukotka district, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug].

Sixty-three (24.3%) out of 259 residents of coastal settlements were found to have a positive immune response to Trichinella antigen. All the seropositive cases were represented by people belonging to three ethnic groups: Chukchi (97.8%), Eskimos (1.2%), and Yakuts (1.0%). The antibody titers varied from 1:100 (32.8%) to 1:1600 (8.7%). The highest titer reactivity was observed in marine mammal hunters, retired persons, and non-manual employees. There was a direct relationship between the antibody titer values and the dietary habits of the respondents preferring traditional foods prepared from marine mammal meat.

Trichinellosis, a Romanian never-ending story. An overview of traditions, culinary customs, and public health conditions.

Over the years, pork was the most frequent source of human trichinellosis in Romania. Cases generally occurred in foci, family, and group clusters and were rarely aggregated in extensive outbreaks. A study regarding the social consequences of trichinellosis in humans concluded that 84.8% of the patients diagnosed with the condition required an average of 53 days of sick leave. Cardiac complications are the most frequent causes of significant health status impairment. "Pig's alms," a specific custom representing the thanksgiving meal offered to relatives, friends, or neighbors who participated in the slaughtering process may be a very good source of infection with Trichinella parasites, leading to unfortunate consequences, especially when animals are not veterinary tested. Beside pork, other concerns for acquiring the disease are represented by game meat and horsemeat, the latter was introduced in public consumption in 2001. Although in Romania Trichinella sp. infection was documented for the first time in horses in 1993, no consequent human cases were detected at that time. Numerous trichinellosis outbreaks involve individuals from the gipsy community, most of whom are very poor, illiterate, unemployed, and live in unsanitary conditions raising backyard pigs without any compliance with hygienic rules. Measures aimed at limiting the spread of the infection in humans and animals should be widely available to be known, understood, and adequately applied by the great mass of pig breeders, hunters, and consumers.

A Community-Based Study to Estimate the Seroprevalence of Trichinellosis and Echinococcosis in the Roma and Non-Roma Population of Slovakia.

Trichinellosis and cystic and alveolar echinococcosis are serious parasitic diseases transmissible between animals and humans. Moreover, alveolar echinococcosis is considered one of the most dangerous of human helminthoses. Roma communities are particularly numerous in Central and Eastern Europe. They are often concentrated in economically undeveloped regions and live in segregated localities with unsatisfactory housing and sanitary conditions. The study aimed to find out the seroprevalence of Trichinella and Echinococcus infections in the Roma population of segregated settlements and to compare it with the seropositivity of the non-Roma population of eastern Slovakia. Out of 823 samples, three sera showed seropositivity to Trichinella in the ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test. Subsequent Western blot reaction (WB) confirmed seropositivity in two Roma women. ELISA seropositivity to E. multilocularis was recorded in six persons (0.73%), and five (0.61%) respondents were seropositive to E. granulosus, but WB confirmed the presence of antibodies to Echinococcus spp. in one Roma participant. Positive persons suffered from unspecific clinical symptoms; Trichinella-positive persons reported headache, cough, fatigue, and muscle pain. The Echinococcus-positive participant suffered from headache and back pain. The study showed that the worse living conditions of the Roma community did not significantly influence the occurrence of Trichinella and Echinococcus infections in this minority.

Trichinosis: epidemiology in Thailand.

Trichinosis is one of the most common food-borne parasitic zoonoses in Thailand and many outbreaks are reported each year. This paper reviews the history, species, and epidemiology of the disease and food habits of the people with an emphasis on the north, northeast, central and south regions of Thailand. The earliest record of trichinosis in Thailand was in 1962 in the Mae Sariang District, Mae Hong Son Province. Since then, about 130 outbreaks have been reported involving 7392 patients and 97 deaths (1962-2005). The highest number of cases, 557, was recorded in 1983. The annual epidemiological surveillance reports of the Bureau of Epidemiology, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, show that trichinosis cases increased from 61 in 1997 to 351 in 1998. In contrast to these figures, the number of reported cases decreased to 16 in 1999 and 128 cases in 2000. There was no record of trichinosis in 2001, but then the figures for 2002, 2003 and 2004 were 289, 126 and 212 respectively. The infected patients were mostly in the 35-44 years age group and the disease occurred more frequently in men than women at a ratio of 1.7-2.0:1. There were 84 reported cases of trichinosis in Chiang Rai, Nan, Chiang Mai, Si Sa ket, Nakhon Phanom, Kalasin, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom and Surat Thani, provinces located in different parts of Thailand in 2005. The outbreaks were more common in the northern areas, especially in rural areas where people ate raw or under-cooked pork and/or wild animals. This indicates the need for health education programs to prevent and control trichinosis as soon as possible in the high-risk areas.

Novel prevention program for trichinellosis in inuit communities.

Repeated outbreaks of trichinellosis caused by the consumption of Trichinella-infected walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) meat, which have sometimes led to serious morbidity, have stimulated Inuit communities in Nunavik (northern Quebec), Canada, to develop an innovative trichinellosis prevention program. The program involves preconsumption testing of meat samples from harvested walrus at a regional laboratory and the rapid dissemination of the results of such testing to communities. Local health authorities in Inukjuak conducted an epidemiological investigation after testing identified Trichinella-positive walrus meat in September 1997. This report describes the events that occurred before, during, and after the trichinellosis outbreak and also documents how the prevention program contributed to successful resolution of the outbreak.

Trichinella spiralis infection--United States, 1990.

Since 1947, when the Public Health Service began to record statistics on trichinosis, the number of cases reported by state health departments each year has declined: in the late 1940s, health departments reported an average of 400 cases and 10-15 deaths each year; from 1982 through 1986, the number declined to an average of 57 per year (Figure 1) and a total of three deaths (1,2). Although this trend reflects a decline in the number of cases related to commercially purchased pork, recent outbreaks of trichinosis in Iowa and Virginia emphasize the continuing need for education about the dangers of eating inadequately cooked pork.

[Pulmonary echinococcosis, hepatic opisthorchiasis and generalized trichinelliasis combined with pregnancy]. / Ekhinokokk legkikh, opistorkhoz pecheni, generalizovannyi trikhinellez v sochetanii s beremennost'iu.

A case is reported of a spontaneous abortion (25 weeks of gestation) in a Nenets woman resulting in thrombohemorrhagic syndrome and profuse uterine bleeding. The abortion is attributed to drastic allergization by three parasites: Echinococcus granulosus, Opisthorchis felineus, Trichinella spiralis.

A trichinosis outbreak among Southeast Asian refugees.

The number of cases of trichinosis reported to Centers for Disease Control has declined steadily, with an average of only 44 cases per year from 1984 through 1988. This decline was almost entirely due to a reduction in cases acquired from ingestion of fresh commercial pork. However, from July 21 through September 3, 1990, 90 (72%) of 125 Southeast Asian refugees from six states and Canada developed trichinosis after attending or eating pork sausage taken from a wedding held in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 14, 1990. Eating uncooked sausage prepared at home from commercially obtained pork was associated with the development of this illness (odds ratio = 34.0, p less than 0.001). Analysis by amount of pork consumed was significant (Mann-Whitney U rank sum test, p less than 0.001). This outbreak of trichinosis in Iowa is the fourth reported within the last 15 years among the 900,000 Southeast Asian refugees resident in the United States and one of the largest reported outbreaks in US history. The continued presence of Trichinella spiralis in commercial pork emphasizes the need for further education and control measures for persons whose dietary habits place them at risk for developing trichinosis.