Trichinella spiralis isolated from Didelphis albiventris and Lutreolina crassicaudata trapped in rural areas of Buenos Aires province

CASTAÑO ZUBIETA, R.; RUIZ MARCELA; MORICI GABRIEL; LOVERA ROSARIO; FERNÁNDEZ MARÍA SOLEDAD; CARACOSTANTOGOLO, J.; CAVIA REGINO

HELMINTHOLOGIA

VERSITA

Lugar: Varsovia; Año: 2014 vol. 51 p. 198 - 202

0440-6605

Trichinellosis is a zoonotic disease caused by nematodes of the genus Trichinella. Humans, who are the final hosts, acquire the infection by eating raw or undercooked meat of different animal origin. Trichinella spiralis is an encapsu­lated species that infects mammals and is widely distri­buted in different continents. In Argentina, this parasite has been reported in the domestic cycle that includes pigs and synanthropic hosts (mainly rats and some carnivores). This is the first report of T. spiralis in the opossums Didelphis albiventris and Lutreolina crassicaudata in Argentina, and the first report in opossums in South America. In this sur­vey, Trichinella larvae were detected by enzymatic diges­tion in three D. albiventris and one L. crassicaudata cap­tured on pig and dairy farms located in the northeast of Buenos Aires province. The microscopic examination of the 32 larvae isolated presented the diagnostic characteris­tic of the genus Trichinella. Two larvae isolated from two D. albiventris and one from L. crassicaudata were identi­fied as T. spiralis by nested multiplex PCR and confirmed by sequencing. Further research to determine the burdens of T. spiralis in opossums may contribute to a better under­standing of the risk of T. spiralis transmission to the synanthropic populations.