School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO. Box 755220, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220, USA.
School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO. Box 757220, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220, USA.
Vet Parasitol. 2014 Feb 24;200(1-2):153-64. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2013.11.015. Epub 2013 Nov 26.
The zoonotic parasite Trichinella is the causative agent of trichinellosis outbreaks in the circumpolar Arctic. Subsistence communities are particularly prone to trichinellosis due to traditional meat preparation methods and regional presence of a freeze-tolerant Trichinella species (Trichinella nativa). This study is the first application of a validated artificial digestion method in determining incidence of Trichinella sp. in Alaskan mammals. Infection incidence in pinniped species (Erignathus barbatus, Eumetopias jubatus, Odobenus rosmarus divergens, and Pusa hispida) was low, with only 1/57 ringed seals infected. Polymerase Chain Reaction assays indicate T. nativa as the only species present in northern Alaska. Analysis of an archived polar bear (Ursus maritimus) muscle sample shows freeze-tolerance and longevity for T. nativa to -20°C for 10 years and short-term freeze resistance to -80°C when morphology was used to determine presence of live larvae. However, larval motility suggests 0% survival. An approach that combines artificial digestion with PCR based species identification has excellent potential for Trichinella sp. detection and identification of archived tissues. Overall, Trichinella in Alaskan mammals, particularly marine mammals of subsistence importance, appears to be a minor problem. These modern diagnostic techniques provide accurate insight into the presence of Trichinella in the Alaskan marine environment.
人畜共患寄生虫旋毛虫是环极北极地区旋毛虫病爆发的病原体。由于传统的肉类准备方法和区域内存在耐寒的旋毛虫物种（Trichinella nativa），生存社区特别容易感染旋毛虫病。本研究首次应用经过验证的人工消化方法来确定阿拉斯加哺乳动物中旋毛虫的发病率。鳍足类动物（环斑海豹、海象、北方海象和北极熊）的感染发生率较低，只有 1/57 只环斑海豹受到感染。聚合酶链反应检测表明，北阿拉斯加仅存在 T. nativa 一种物种。对一份存档的北极熊（Ursus maritimus）肌肉样本的分析表明，T. nativa 对-20°C的耐冻性和长期生存能力为 10 年，并且在使用形态学来确定活幼虫存在时，对-80°C的短期抗冻能力。然而，幼虫的运动能力表明存活率为 0%。结合人工消化和基于 PCR 的物种鉴定的方法具有极好的潜力，可用于检测和鉴定存档组织中的旋毛虫。总的来说，阿拉斯加哺乳动物中的旋毛虫病，特别是具有生存重要性的海洋哺乳动物中的旋毛虫病似乎是一个小问题。这些现代诊断技术为了解阿拉斯加海洋环境中旋毛虫的存在提供了准确的见解。
