Trichinella pseudospiralis in the Iberian peninsula.
Nematode worms of the genus Trichinella are zoonotic parasites circulating in most continents, including Europe. In Spain, Trichinella spiralis and Trichinella britovi are highly prevalent in wildlife but seldom in domestic pigs. In Portugal, only T. britovi was documented in wild carnivores. In the period 2006-2013 in Spain, 384 (0.0001%) pigs and 1399 (0.20%) wild boars (Sus scrofa) were positive for Trichinella spp. larvae, which were identified as T. spiralis or T. britovi. In 2014, Trichinella pseudospiralis larvae were isolated from a wild boar hunted in the Gerona province, Cataluña region, North-East of Spain, near the border to France. This is the first report of T. pseudospiralis in the Iberian peninsula, which suggests a broad distribution area of this zoonotic nematode in Europe. Since larvae of this Trichinella species do not encapsulate in the host muscles, they can be detected only by artificial digestion of muscle samples. T. pseudospiralis is the only Trichinella species infecting both mammals and birds. Birds can spread this pathogen over great distances including islands triggering new foci of infections in areas previously considered at low risk for this pathogen.
Servicio de Microbiología Alimentaria, Centro Nacional de Alimentación, Agencia Española de Consumo, Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición, Ctra. Pozuelo a Majadahonda, Km 5,100, 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
M J
MJ
Zamora
Servicio de Microbiología Alimentaria, Centro Nacional de Alimentación, Agencia Española de Consumo, Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición, Ctra. Pozuelo a Majadahonda, Km 5,100, 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
M
M
Alvarez
Servicio de Microbiología Alimentaria, Centro Nacional de Alimentación, Agencia Española de Consumo, Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición, Ctra. Pozuelo a Majadahonda, Km 5,100, 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
J
J
Olmedo
Servicio de Microbiología Alimentaria, Centro Nacional de Alimentación, Agencia Española de Consumo, Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición, Ctra. Pozuelo a Majadahonda, Km 5,100, 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
M C
MC
Blanco
Department of Infectious Parasitic and Immunomediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regia Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: edoardo.pozio@iss.it.
E
E
Pozio
D000818:Animals; D007814:Larva; D008297:Male; D009132:Muscles / Q000469:parasitology; D015995:Prevalence; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D034421:Sus scrofa; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D014234:Trichinella / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014235:Trichinellosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*
Epidemiology; Iberian peninsula; Spain; Trichinella pseudospiralis; Wild boar, Sus scrofa