Abstract
Trichinella nematodes continue to circulate in various hosts both in the domestic and sylvatic cycles. In the majority of countries in Europe, wild boars have been noticed as a primary source of Trichinella spp. infections in humans. However, in some regions, the meat of pigs containing Trichinella spp. larvae can still be a cause of trichinellosis. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to determine and present actual data on the occurrence of Trichinella spp. on pig farms (Sus scrofa f. domestica) in Poland. In this study, over 194 million pigs, slaughtered for commercial and personal purposes between 2012 and 2020, were tested with a digestion method according to the official rules for Trichinella control. Positive results were noticed in 172 pigs which gives an overall prevalence of 0.000088%. On seven farms, rats (Rattus norvegicus) infected with Trichinella spp. were also discovered. The species identification showed pigs were infected with Trichinella spiralis on 26 farms, and on four farms pigs with Trichinella britovi infections were found. Therefore, it is important to constantly monitor pigs for the presence of these parasites, especially in view of the growing interest in organic meat originated from ecological farms.
Highlights
Food safety is a key issue for the global food chain and a daily concern for consumers
Routine diagnostics of trichinellosis conducted by Veterinary Inspection Services (VIS) included 194,449,146 pigs slaughtered in 2012–2020, with average 21,605,460 pigs slaughtered yearly
The positive results come from 30 pig farms in which altogether 172 pigs were infected with Trichinella spp. (Table 1)
Summary
Food safety is a key issue for the global food chain and a daily concern for consumers. There are many species of animals that can be infected with Trichinella spp., mainly predatory, carnivorous animals such as wolves, foxes, jackals, bears, and they are the largest reservoir of this parasite. Historical data indicate that in Europe, pig meat was the most common source of human infection [7,8] This information led to changes in the legislation stating that each pig carcass intended for the market or own purposes must be tested for the presence of Trichinella spp. larvae, and removed from the food chain in case of positive [9]. 2075/2005, laying down specific rules for the official controls of Trichinella in meat in order to improve food safety for European consumers Apart from pigs, this rule covered wild boars, horses, bears and coypu (EU Regulation 2017/2005) [10]. If these conditions are not met, there is a need to continue to perform tests according to EU Regulation 2020/1478 of 14 October 2020 [12] amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1375 as regards sampling, the reference method for detection and import conditions related to Trichinella spp. control
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