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. 2022 Dec 29:16:100480.
doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2022.100480. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Trichinella britovi in wild boar meat from Italy, 2015-2021: A citizen science approach to surveillance

Giovanni Sgroi  1 , Nicola D'Alessio  1   2 , Gianluca Marucci  3 , Laura Pacifico  4   5 , Francesco Buono  5 , Georgiana Deak  6 , Aniello Anastasio  5 , Maria Interisano  3 , Pasquale Fraulo  1 , Antonella Pesce  1 , Valerio Toscano  7 , Antonella Cristina Romano  8 , Mariateresa Toce  8 , Lucia Palazzo  8 , Esterina De Carlo  1 , Alessandro Fioretti  5 , Vincenzo Veneziano  2   5
Affiliations

Trichinella britovi in wild boar meat from Italy, 2015-2021: A citizen science approach to surveillance

Giovanni Sgroi et al. One Health. .

Abstract

As a result of the increase of game meat intended for human consumption through Europe, a plethora of food-borne diseases, including trichinellosis, may occur in consumers, posing a relevant public health threat. Thus, this study aims to a citizen science approach to monitor the occurrence of Trichinella spp. in wild boar meat intended for human consumption, evaluating the risk of infection for consumers. Following the European Regulation 2015/1375 (laying down specific rules on official controls for Trichinella in meat), from 2015 to 2021, hunters (n = 478) were involved to collect diaphragm pillar samples of wild boars from mainland southern Italy, which were tested for Trichinella spp. L1 larvae via HCl-pepsin digestion and Multiplex PCR. Overall, 139,160 animals were collected (average of 19,880 per year), being 14 (i.e., 0.01%) tested positive to Trichinella britovi by the combined biochemical and molecular approach. An average larval burden of 28.4 L1 per gram of meat was found (minimum 3.2 - maximum 132.6). A statistically significant difference was found in the prevalence according to hunting seasons (p < 0.01, with higher values in 2016 and 2021) and regions of the study area (p < 0.01). No statistically significant decrease in the prevalence of T. britovi throughout the study period was found (p = 0.51), except in Apulia region (p < 0.01). These findings revealed a stable prevalence of T. britovi in wild boar meat intended for human consumption, suggesting a risk of infection for consumers, especially hunters and local markets users. Citizen science surveillance models could be promoted to improve trichinellosis control and prevention in a One Health perspective.

Keywords: Citizen science; Food safety; Game meat; Public health; Trichinella britovi; Wild boar.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Map showing the distribution of wild boars (n = 14) tested positive to Trichinella britovi according to different altitudes (meters on the sea level, masl) and regions of mainland southern Italy, 2015–2021.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Trichinella spp. L1 larvae found by HCl-pepsin method in a diaphragm pillar sample of a wild boar collected in southern Italy between 2015 and 2021.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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