Preliminary results on Trichinella spiralis infection in wild boars (Sus scrofa) from a protected area of Argentina

VENTURIELLO S, COHEN M, BARRIOS L, CASTRO G, NUÑEZ G,BLANCO G, POZIO E , COSTANTINO S.

Zagreb, Croatia

Congreso; XII International Congress on Trichinellosis; 2007

Preliminary results on Trichinella spiralis infection in wild boars (Sus scrofa) from a protected area of Argentina Stella Maris Venturiello, Melina Cohen, Leandro X. Barrios Castro1, Guillermo G. Nuñez, Guillermo A. Blanco, Edoardo Pozio2, Susana N. Costantino University of Buenos Aires. IDEHU-CONICET - Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biotechnology Junin 956; 1113 Buenos Aires Argentina 1-El Palmar, National Park, Entre Rios, Argentina 2-Isituto Superiore di Sanita. Viale Regina Elena 299, Rome, Italy Trichinella spiralis is a widespread zoonotic pathogen in domestic pigs and synanthropic animals living in Argentina; however, very few information is available on the circulation of Trichinella sp. among wildlife of Argentina. The aims of the work were: A) to detect Trichinella sp. larvae in wild boars (Sus scrofa) of a protected natural park located in an area of the Argentina which had been considered Trichinella-free; B) to identify the Trichinella species circulating in the area by a PCR-derived method;  and C) to detect the exact locality where infected and non-infected animals are circulating by the Geographical Information System. Muscle samples (76±21g) from 54 wild boars killed by hunters, were analysed individually by the artificial digestion method. Trichinella sp. muscle larvae were detected in 5 (9.2%) of wild boars,  with a parasite burden ranging from 0.01 to 0.34 larvae/g. Muscle larvae collected from a positive wild boar have been identified as belonging to T. spiralis. The geographical distribution pattern of the infected animals did not show any correlation with human settlements. Nevertheless, the origin of the infection from the domestic cycle cannot be ruled out. These results show the circulation of T. spiralis in wild animals living in their natural habitat and, at the same time, how a lack of reports on Trichinella sp. infection in domestic animals and humans, in the absence of surveys, does not allow to consider an area as Trichinella-free.