Department of Veterinary Prevention and Feed Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland.
Department of Parasitology and Invasive Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland.
PLoS One. 2019 Jul 8;14(7):e0219303. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219303. eCollection 2019.
From 1 January 2018 came into force Regulation (EU) 2015/2238 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015, introducing the concept of "novel foods", including insects and their parts. One of the most commonly used species of insects are: mealworms (Tenebrio molitor), house crickets (Acheta domesticus), cockroaches (Blattodea) and migratory locusts (Locusta migrans). In this context, the unfathomable issue is the role of edible insects in transmitting parasitic diseases that can cause significant losses in their breeding and may pose a threat to humans and animals. The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the developmental forms of parasites colonizing edible insects in household farms and pet stores in Central Europe and to determine the potential risk of parasitic infections for humans and animals. The experimental material comprised samples of live insects (imagines) from 300 household farms and pet stores, including 75 mealworm farms, 75 house cricket farms, 75 Madagascar hissing cockroach farms and 75 migrating locust farms. Parasites were detected in 244 (81.33%) out of 300 (100%) examined insect farms. In 206 (68.67%) of the cases, the identified parasites were pathogenic for insects only; in 106 (35.33%) cases, parasites were potentially parasitic for animals; and in 91 (30.33%) cases, parasites were potentially pathogenic for humans. Edible insects are an underestimated reservoir of human and animal parasites. Our research indicates the important role of these insects in the epidemiology of parasites pathogenic to vertebrates. Conducted parasitological examination suggests that edible insects may be the most important parasite vector for domestic insectivorous animals. According to our studies the future research should focus on the need for constant monitoring of studied insect farms for pathogens, thus increasing food and feed safety.
自 2018 年 1 月 1 日起，欧洲议会和理事会 2015 年 11 月 25 日的第 2015/2238 号法规生效，引入了“新型食品”的概念，包括昆虫及其部分。最常用的昆虫种类之一是：黄粉虫（Tenebrio molitor）、家蟋蟀（Acheta domesticus）、蟑螂（Blattodea）和飞蝗（Locusta migrans）。在这种情况下，一个难以理解的问题是食用昆虫在传播寄生虫病方面的作用，这些寄生虫病可能导致其养殖大量损失，并可能对人类和动物构成威胁。本研究的目的是识别和评估在中欧家庭农场和宠物店中寄生在食用昆虫中的寄生虫的发育形式，并确定寄生虫感染对人类和动物的潜在风险。实验材料包括来自 300 个家庭农场和宠物店的活昆虫（成虫）样本，其中包括 75 个黄粉虫农场、75 个家蟋蟀农场、75 个马达加斯加发声蟑螂农场和 75 个飞蝗农场。在 300 个（100%）检查的昆虫农场中，有 244 个（81.33%）发现了寄生虫。在 206 个（68.67%）病例中，鉴定的寄生虫仅对昆虫具有致病性；在 106 个（35.33%）病例中，寄生虫对动物具有潜在寄生虫性；在 91 个（30.33%）病例中，寄生虫对人类具有潜在致病性。食用昆虫是人类和动物寄生虫的一个被低估的储存库。我们的研究表明，这些昆虫在脊椎动物寄生虫流行病学中起着重要作用。进行的寄生虫学检查表明，食用昆虫可能是家庭食虫动物最重要的寄生虫媒介。根据我们的研究，未来的研究应侧重于不断监测所研究的昆虫农场的病原体，从而提高食物和饲料的安全性。
