title: An outbreak of trichinosis in Lebanon.
abstract: In 1982 an outbreak of trichinosis occurred in an area of south Lebanon consisting of 4 villages, including 6440 persons. In 267 households, involving 2456 persons, typical clinical signs of Trichinella spiralis infection could be recognized among household members. Twenty-one of these households, including 193 persons, were randomly chosen for further studies. Nearly half of the household members (46%) had clinical symptoms consistent with acute trichinosis. 12 of 16 tested persons had high anti-Trichinella antibody titres (12 positive by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and 11 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). Class-specific antibodies, IIF-immunoglobulin (Ig) G, IgM and IgA, were detected in most tested cases. Of the remaining 4 seronegative cases, 3 had a duration of clinical symptoms < or = 12 d. High peripheral eosinophilic counts (> 20%) were noted in 8 of 16 cases. In total, 15 of 16 cases were positive by one or more of these tests. The outbreak constituted one of the most extensive single outbreaks reported with a calculated > 1000 clinical cases. The cause was attributed to consumption of raw pork meat, an ingredient of kebbeh nayyeh, a favourite Lebanese dish.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Göteborg, Ostra Hospital, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Olaison
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ljungström
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000032:analysis; D002648:Child; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D016266:Food Parasitology; D006801:Humans; D007861:Lebanon / Q000453:epidemiology; D008460:Meat; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D013552:Swine; D017160:Trichinella spiralis / Q000276:immunology; D014235:Trichinellosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission
chemical_list: D000909:Antibodies, Helminth