Strayed dogs sentinels ofTrichinella britoviinfection in Kosovo

Article available at http://www.parasite-journal.org or http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/parasite/2011183281 LETTER฀TO฀THE฀EDITOR STRAYED฀ DOGS฀ SENTINELS฀ OF฀ TRICHINELLA฀ BRITOVI฀ INFECTION฀ IN฀KOSOVO WATIER-GRILLOT฀S.*,฀VALLÉE฀I.**,฀LACOUR฀S.A.**,฀฀ CANA฀A.***,฀DAVOUST฀B.*฀&฀MARIÉ฀J.L.* Sir, Trichinellosis฀is฀one฀of฀the฀most฀widespread฀parasitic฀ zoonoses฀in฀the฀world.฀Over฀the฀past฀decade,฀Eastern฀ Europe฀ has฀ experienced฀ a฀ re-emergence฀ of฀ trichinellosis,฀connected฀with฀the฀social,฀political฀and฀economic฀ changes฀of฀the฀1990s.฀A฀high฀prevalence฀of฀Trichinella฀ infection฀ in฀ domestic฀ animals฀ and฀ in฀ humans฀ has฀ been฀ reported฀ in฀ Bulgaria,฀ Serbia฀ and฀ Montenegro,฀ Romania฀ and฀ Croatia฀ (Cuperlovic฀ et฀ al.,฀ 2005;฀ Blaga฀ et฀al.,฀2007).฀Between฀2008฀and฀2010,฀the฀presence฀of฀ trichinellosis฀ was฀ reported฀ on฀ animals฀ in฀ Serbia฀ and฀ Montenegro,฀in฀Bulgaria.฀Human฀cases฀of฀trichinellosis฀ were฀also฀recently฀reported฀in฀Serbia฀and฀Montenegro,฀ Bulgaria,฀ Albania฀ (OIE,฀ WAHID฀ database).฀ Update฀ data฀ concerning฀ Trichinella฀ infection฀ in฀ animals฀ and฀ humans฀in฀Kosovo฀are฀not฀available.฀Kosovo฀is฀located฀ in฀ the฀ heart฀ of฀ South฀ East฀ Europe,฀ in฀ the฀ middle฀ of฀ the฀ Balkan฀ Peninsula.฀ Kosovo฀ is฀ situated฀ between฀ the฀ 42°฀ and฀ 44°฀ parallels฀ of฀ Northern฀ hemisphere฀ and฀between฀the฀20°฀and฀22°฀meridians.฀Kosovo฀has฀ common฀ borders฀ with฀ the฀ aforementioned฀ countries฀ of฀Eastern฀Europe.฀To฀improve฀the฀knowledge฀of฀the฀ epidemiology฀of฀trichinellosis฀in฀this฀area,฀the฀detection฀ of฀ Trichinella฀ spp.฀ was฀ performed฀ on฀ muscles฀ collected฀on฀carcasses฀of฀stray฀dogs฀from฀the฀outskirts฀ of฀the฀city฀of฀Mitrovica,฀north฀Kosovo.฀ In฀ October฀ 2008,฀ muscle฀ samples฀ were฀ collected฀ from฀ 25฀ stray฀ dogs฀ from฀ the฀ suburbs฀ of฀ Mitrovica,฀ a฀ city฀ located฀ in฀ the฀ Northern฀ part฀ of฀ Kosovo฀ (19°฀36’฀49’’฀E;฀ 44°฀58’฀56’’฀N).฀ They฀ were฀ shot฀ in฀ a฀ landfill฀ situated฀ between฀ the฀ cities฀ of฀ Mitrovica฀ and฀ Zvecan฀ (20°฀50’฀23’’฀E;฀ 42°฀54’฀24’’฀N).฀ The฀ dogs฀ included฀ in฀ the฀ study฀ were฀ shot฀ as฀ part฀ of฀ a฀ rabies฀ *฀Direction฀Régionale฀du฀Service฀de฀Santé฀des฀Armées฀de฀Toulon,฀BP฀ 860,฀83800฀Toulon฀Cedex฀9,฀France.฀French฀Forces฀Medical฀Service,฀ Working฀ Group฀ on฀ Animal฀ Epidemiology,฀ Secteur฀ Vétérinaire฀ de฀ Marseille,฀BP฀30182,฀13276฀Marseille฀Cedex฀9,฀France. **฀French฀NRL฀for฀Food฀Borne฀Parasites,฀JRU฀BIPAR฀ANSES,฀ENVA,฀ UPEC,฀ANSES฀Animal฀Health฀Laboratory,฀23,฀avenue฀du฀Général฀de฀ Gaulle,฀94706฀Maisons-Alfort฀Cedex,฀France. ***฀Veterinarian,฀private฀practice,฀Mitrovica,฀Kosovo. Correspondence:฀ Stéphanie฀ Watier-Grillot,฀ Direction฀ Régionale฀ du฀ Service฀ de฀ Santé฀ des฀ Armées฀ de฀ Toulon,฀ BP฀ 860,฀ 83800฀ Toulon฀ Cedex฀9,฀France. Tel.:฀33฀(0)4฀94฀02฀45฀38฀–฀Fax:฀33฀(0)4฀94฀02฀45฀38. E-mail:฀[email protected] Parasite,฀2011,฀18,฀281-283 prevention฀ program,฀ by฀ hunters฀ employed฀ by฀ the฀ civilian฀ authorities฀ of฀ the฀ city.฀ Muscles฀ samples฀ were฀ taken฀ from฀ masseter฀ muscles฀ (about฀ 20฀%฀ of฀ whole฀ samples)฀dorsal฀muscles฀(about฀40฀%฀of฀the฀samples)฀ and฀ diaphragm฀ muscles฀ and฀ pillars฀ (about฀ 40฀%฀ of฀ the฀samples). Muscle฀samples฀were฀kept฀frozen฀at฀-20฀°C฀until฀further฀ processing฀in฀the฀French฀national฀reference฀laboratory฀ for฀Food฀borne฀parasite,฀Maisons-Alfort,฀France. Trichinella฀ larvae฀ were฀ identified฀ using฀ a฀ multiplex฀ PCR฀ as฀ described฀ by฀ Pozio฀ and฀ la฀ Rosa฀ (Pozio฀ &฀ la฀ Rosa,฀ 2003).฀ All฀ dogs฀ included฀ in฀ the฀ study฀ were฀ crossbreed฀ (hound,฀ sheepdog),฀ medium฀ –฀ weighed฀ and฀ mature฀ (Table฀ I).฀ Sex฀ (male฀ or฀ female)฀ was฀ not฀ recorded฀at฀the฀time฀of฀sampling.฀ Dog 1-21 22 23 24 25 Age฀ (years) Weight฀ (kg) ] ] 2-5 15-40 Larvae/g Species – – ฀ 0.9 T.฀britovi ฀ 0.4 T.฀britovi 57 T.฀britovi 22.8 T.฀britovi Table฀ I.฀ –฀ Results฀ of฀ the฀ search฀ and฀ identification฀ of฀ Trichinella฀ larvae฀ in฀ muscles฀ samples฀ collected฀ on฀ 25฀ dogs฀ from฀ Mitrovica,฀ north฀Kosovo. Overall,฀ 16฀%฀ (4/25)฀ of฀ the฀ dogs฀ were฀ infected฀ by฀ Trichinella.฀Trichinella฀britovi฀was฀identified฀in฀all฀the฀ positive฀samples.฀This฀result฀proves฀the฀circulation฀of฀ the฀parasite฀in฀this฀area. In฀Kosovo,฀stray฀dogs฀live฀in฀the฀outskirts฀of฀the฀cities฀ and฀villages.฀Because฀of฀this฀periurban฀location,฀they฀ can฀create฀a฀link฀between฀wild฀and฀domestic฀animals,฀ as฀described฀by฀Pozio฀(Pozio,฀2007).฀The฀area฀located฀ on฀north฀Mitrovica฀is฀occupied฀by฀forests.฀Here,฀stray฀ dogs฀ come฀ into฀ contact฀ with฀ wildlife.฀ Various฀ species฀of฀wild฀animals฀are฀reservoir฀hosts฀for฀T.฀britovi,฀ transmitted฀ within฀ a฀ sylvatic฀ cycle฀ (Gottstein฀ et฀ al.,฀ 2009).฀Peroral฀infection฀of฀stray฀dogs฀may฀occur฀after฀ ingestion฀of฀muscle฀tissue฀from฀infectious฀prey฀animals฀ (rodents,฀ birds...)฀ or฀ by฀ consumption฀ of฀ infectious฀ tissues฀ from฀ a฀ carrion฀ of฀ homologous฀ (cannibalism)฀ or฀ heterologous฀ species฀ (boars,฀ foxes,฀ wolves,฀ birds,฀ rodents...). One฀ of฀ the฀ most฀ important฀ biological฀ factors฀ promoting฀ transmission฀ of฀ the฀ parasite฀ is฀ the฀ physiological฀ ability฀ of฀ muscle-stage฀ larvae฀ to฀ survive฀ in฀ decaying฀ Parasite,฀2011,฀18 281 LETTER฀TO฀THE฀EDITOR carcasses/carrions.฀ Encapsulated฀ larvae฀ of฀ T.฀ britovi฀ in฀mouse฀carcasses฀packed฀in฀plastic฀vials฀have฀been฀ found฀to฀be฀infective฀for฀laboratory฀animals฀up฀to฀45฀ days฀at฀room฀temperature฀even฀if฀the฀muscle฀is฀completely฀liquefied฀(Pozio,฀unpublished฀data).฀Moreover,฀ muscle฀larvae฀of฀Trichinella฀spp.฀can฀survive฀even฀at฀ low฀freezing฀temperatures,฀maintaining฀infectivity฀for฀ future฀ hosts.฀ T.฀ britovi฀ can฀ survive฀ in฀ frozen฀ carrion฀ for฀up฀to฀one฀year฀(Dick฀&฀Pozio,฀2001).฀The฀survival฀ of฀ muscle฀ larvae฀ after฀ freezing฀ occurs฀ mainly฀ when฀ these฀ larvae฀ parasitize฀ striated฀ muscles฀ of฀ carnivores฀ (bears,฀ foxes,฀ dogs...)฀ (Gottstein฀ et฀ al.,฀ 2009).฀ These฀ well-established฀environmental฀adaptations฀go฀towards฀ increasing฀ the฀ survival฀ of฀ the฀ parasite฀ in฀ nature฀ and฀ perpetuating฀the฀transmission฀of฀the฀parasite฀to฀wildlife฀ and฀stray฀dogs. Stray฀ dogs฀ also฀ go฀ near฀ and฀ even฀ enter฀ in฀ the฀ city฀ of฀ Mitrovica฀ to฀ find฀ out฀ food,฀ especially฀ during฀ cold฀ season฀ (from฀ October฀ to฀ March-April).฀ They฀ eat฀ mainly฀garbage:฀rubbish฀cans฀from฀Mitrovica฀and฀from฀ the฀ villages฀ around฀ Mitrovica;฀ landfill฀ located฀ near฀ Mitrovica,฀where฀all฀the฀garbage฀from฀the฀outskirts฀of฀ Mitrovica฀are฀deposited.฀Garbage฀are฀not฀buried฀and฀ are฀stored฀open-cast฀in฀the฀landfill.฀They฀are฀therefore฀ easily฀accessible฀to฀feral฀animals.฀Because฀Mitrovica฀is฀ located฀near฀a฀Serb฀area,฀where฀swine฀herds฀are฀bred฀ and฀ pork฀ meats฀ are฀ consumed,฀ garbage฀ may฀ contain฀ pork฀ scraps฀ and฀ even฀ pork฀ carcasses.฀ In฀ several฀ countries฀ of฀ Central฀ Eastern฀ Europe,฀ the฀ transient฀ breakdown฀ of฀ governmental฀ veterinary฀ services฀ and฀ state฀farms,฀accompanied฀by฀economic฀problems฀and฀ war,฀have฀resulted฀in฀sharp฀increase฀in฀the฀incidence฀ of฀ Trichinella฀ infection฀ among฀ domestic฀ pig฀ herds,฀ with฀prevalence฀rates฀reaching฀50฀%฀in฀some฀villages฀ in฀1990s฀(Murell฀&฀Pozio,฀2000).฀In฀the฀neighbouring฀ Serbia,฀the฀consequences฀have฀been฀a฀300฀%฀increase฀ in฀ pig฀ infection฀ and฀ a฀ concomitant฀ large฀ increase฀ of฀ human฀cases฀of฀trichinellosis฀(Murell฀&฀Pozio,฀2000). Human฀ trichinellosis฀ may฀ be฀ acquired฀ through฀ the฀ consumption฀of฀raw฀or฀undercooked฀meat฀(e.g.,฀pork,฀ horse฀ and฀ game฀ meat)฀ containing฀ infective฀ larvae฀ of฀ Trichinella฀ spp.฀ (Gottstein฀ et฀ al.,฀ 2009).฀ Immediate฀ cause฀ of฀ recent฀ human฀ outbreaks฀ in฀ Eastern฀ Europe฀ was฀ the฀ consumption฀ of฀ traditionally฀ prepared฀ sausages฀ (Dupouy-Camet,฀ 2006).฀ Pig฀ contamination฀ mainly฀ occurs฀ by฀ eating฀ scraps฀ of฀ infectious฀ meats฀ mixed฀ with฀ food,฀ by฀ eating฀ rodents฀ present฀ in฀ the฀ pig฀ farm฀ or฀ by฀ caudophagy.฀ Horse฀ can฀ also฀ play฀ a฀ part฀ in฀ infection฀ of฀ stray฀ dogs฀ in฀ Kosovo.฀ Kosovo฀ is฀ mostly฀rural฀and฀horses฀are฀used฀as฀draught฀animals.฀ Stray฀ dogs฀ can฀ become฀ infected฀ by฀ consumption฀ of฀ 282 carcasses฀of฀infected฀horses.฀In฀the฀past฀30฀years,฀horse฀ meat฀has฀been฀identified฀as฀the฀main฀source฀of฀human฀ trichinellosis฀ in฀ Europe,฀ with฀ more฀ than฀ 3,350฀ cases฀ reported฀in฀14฀outbreaks฀(Pozio฀et฀al.,฀2005;฀Boireau฀ et฀al.,฀2000).฀Horses฀fattening฀with฀pork฀scraps฀before฀ slaughtering฀ or฀ consumption฀ of฀ rodents฀ crushed฀ and฀ mixed฀with฀the฀fodder฀by฀accident฀are฀sources฀of฀contamination฀of฀horses฀(Murrell฀et฀al.,฀2004). Considering฀ the฀ high฀ parasitic฀ loads฀ revealed฀ on฀ a฀ number฀of฀dogs฀included฀in฀the฀study,฀stray฀dogs฀from฀ the฀ outskirts฀ of฀ Mitrovica฀ probably฀ become฀ infected฀ from฀ several฀ sources฀ of฀ contamination.฀ As฀ they฀ are฀ carnivorous,฀ they฀ concentrate฀ the฀ parasite.฀ The฀ cycle฀ of฀ transmission฀ of฀ Trichinella฀ spp.฀ in฀ animals฀ in฀ Kosovo฀is฀not฀precisely฀known฀as฀knowledge฀is฀only฀ partial.฀Further฀studies฀would฀be฀necessary,฀including฀ sampling฀ on฀ wild฀ and฀ out-of-town฀ animals฀ (rodents,฀ stray฀cats...). In฀this฀study,฀local฀stray฀dogs฀represent฀bio-indicators฀ for฀ a฀ biological฀ risk.฀ In฀ areas฀ where฀ epidemiological฀ data฀ are฀ unknown฀ or฀ incomplete,฀ local฀ animals฀ can฀ be฀ useful฀ sentinels฀ for฀ humans,฀ for฀ sanitary฀ risks฀ of฀ environmental฀origin.฀Because฀there฀are฀a฀lot฀of฀potential฀ reservoir฀ hosts฀ of฀ the฀ parasite,฀ especially฀ among฀ wildlife,฀ Trichinella฀ infection฀ cannot฀ be฀ eradicated.฀ Nevertheless฀the฀disease฀can฀be฀efficiently฀prevented฀ in฀humans฀by฀means฀of฀individual฀and฀public฀health฀ measures.฀Improvement฀of฀meat฀control฀and฀education฀ of฀ the฀ consumers฀ (to฀ cook฀ potentially฀ infected฀ meat฀ thoroughly)฀ are฀ key฀ preventive฀ measures.฀ Travellers฀ should฀also฀be฀informed฀of฀the฀risks฀of฀illegal฀importations฀of฀traditional฀meat฀products฀from฀Central฀and฀ Eastern฀ European฀ countries฀ where฀ trichinellosis฀ is฀ endemic.฀ REFERENCES BLAGA฀ R.,฀ DURAND฀ B.,฀ ANTONIU฀ S.,฀ GHERMAN฀ C.,฀ CRETU฀ CM.,฀ COZMA฀ V.฀ &฀ BOIREAU฀ P.฀ A฀ dramatic฀ increase฀ in฀ the฀ incidence฀ of฀ human฀ trichinellosis฀ in฀ Romania฀ over฀ the฀ past฀ 25฀ years:฀ impact฀ of฀ political฀ changes฀ and฀ regional฀ food฀ habits.฀Am฀J฀Trop฀Med฀Hyg,฀2007,฀76฀(5),฀983-986. 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POZIO฀E.฀&฀LA฀ROSA฀G.฀PCR-derived฀methods฀for฀the฀identification฀ of฀ Trichinella฀ parasites฀ from฀ animal฀ and฀ human฀ samples.฀Met฀Mol฀Biol,฀2003,฀216,฀299-309. POZIO฀E.฀&฀ZARLENGA฀D.S.฀Recent฀advances฀on฀the฀taxonomy,฀ systematic฀and฀epidemiology฀of฀Trichinella.฀Int฀J฀Parasitol,฀ 2005,฀35,฀1191-1204. Received฀on฀March฀20th,฀2011 Accepted฀on฀April฀5th,฀2011 Parasite,฀2011,฀18,฀281-283 Parasite,฀2011,฀18 283