A study to demonstrate freedom of Trichinella spp. in domestic pigs in Switzerland

Schuppers, M.E.; Rosenberg, Gertrud; Graf, Ramona; Eidam, Verena; Wittwer, Christine; Zimmermann, Werner; Gottstein, Bruno; Frey, Caroline (2010). A study to demonstrate freedom of Trichinella spp. in domestic pigs in Switzerland. Zoonoses and public health, 57(7-8), pp. 130-135. Berlin: Wiley-Blackwell 10.1111/j.1863-2378.2009.01299.x

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Trichinellosis is a food-borne zoonotic disease caused by the nematode Trichinella spp. Many omnivorous and carnivorous animal species can act as host for this parasite, including domestic pigs. To protect public health, it should be ensured that pork should not contain infective Trichinella larvae. Surveillance for Trichinella spp. can be done using direct (larval detection) and indirect (antibody detection) diagnostic techniques. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the absence of infection in Swiss domestic pigs. An ELISA was used as the initial screening test, and sera reacting in ELISA were further investigated using both a Western blot for serology and an artificial digestion test with 20 g of diaphragm tissue for larval detection. A total of 7412 adult pigs, 9973 finishing pigs and 2779 free-ranging pigs were tested. Samples from 17 (0.23%) adult pigs, 16 (0.16%) finishing pigs and nine (0.32%) free-ranging pigs were ELISA-positive, but all of these sera were subsequently negative by Western blot and by the artificial digestion method. Based on these findings, an absence of Trichinella infections in adult pigs (target prevalence 0.04%) and finishing pigs (target prevalence 0.03%) can be concluded. The results also demonstrated that the prevalence of Trichinella infections does not exceed 0.11% in free-ranging pigs, the group with the highest risk of exposure.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) > Institute of Parasitology
05 Veterinary Medicine > Research Foci > Host-Pathogen Interaction
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine (DKV) > Swine Clinic
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine (DKV)
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP)

UniBE Contributor:

Rosenberg, Gertrud, Graf, Ramona, Eidam, Verena, Wittwer, Christine, Zimmermann, Werner, Gottstein, Bruno, Frey Marreros Canales, Caroline Franziska

Subjects:

600 Technology > 630 Agriculture

ISSN:

1863-1959

Publisher:

Wiley-Blackwell

Language:

English

Submitter:

Factscience Import

Date Deposited:

04 Oct 2013 14:31

Last Modified:

02 Mar 2023 23:21

Publisher DOI:

10.1111/j.1863-2378.2009.01299.x

PubMed ID:

19968841

Web of Science ID:

000284369000021

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.12115

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/12115 (FactScience: 218397)

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