University of Sarajevo - Veterinary Faculty, Zmaja od Bosne 90, Sarajevo, 71 000, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
University of Sarajevo - Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science, Zmaja od Bosne 8, Sarajevo, 71 000, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
BMC Vet Res. 2024 Mar 23;20(1):117. doi: 10.1186/s12917-024-03964-6.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, domestic and wild carnivores represent a significant driver for the transmission and ecology of zoonotic pathogens, especially those of parasitic aetiology. Nevertheless, there is no systematic research of Trichinella species in animals that have been conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina, even though trichinellosis is considered the most important parasitic zoonosis. The available results of the few studies carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina are mainly related to the confirmation of parasitic larvae in the musculature of domestic pigs and wild boars or data related to trichinellosis in humans. The objective of our study was to present the findings of a comprehensive investigation into the species composition of Trichinella among 11 carnivorous species within the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as follows: red fox (Vulpes vulpes), grey wolf (Canis lupus), brown bear (Ursus arctos), wildcat (Felis silvestris), pine marten (Martes martes), European badger (Meles meles), weasel (Mustela nivalis), European polecat (Mustela putorius), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), but also dog (Canis lupus familiaris) and cat (Felis catus).
In the period 2013-2023, carnivore musculature samples (n = 629), each consisting of 10 g of muscle tissue, were taken post-mortem and individually examined using the artificial digestion method. In the positive samples (n = 128), molecular genotyping and identification of parasitic larvae of Trichinella spp. were performed using a PCR-based technique up to the species/genotype level. Positive samples were used for basic PCR detection of the genus Trichinella (rrnS rt-PCR technique) and genotyping (rrnl-EVS rt-PCR technique). The Trichinella infection was documented for the first time in Bosnia and Herzegovina among red foxes, grey wolves, brown bears, dogs, badgers and Eurasian lynx, with a frequency rate of 20.3%. Additionally, the presence of T. britovi infection was newly confirmed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, marking the initial documented cases. Furthermore, both T. britovi and T. pseudospiralis infections were observed in the wildcat population, whereas T. britovi and T. spiralis infections were detected in pine martens. Consistent with previous research, our findings align particularly regarding carnivores, with data from other countries such as Germany, Finland, Romania, Poland and Spain, where T. britovi exhibits a wider distribution (62.5-100%) compared to T. spiralis (0.0-37.5%). T. britovi is more common among sylvatic carnivores (89.0%), while T. spiralis prevails in wild boars (62.0%), domestic swine (82.0%) and rodents (75.0%).
The results of our study represent the first molecular identification of species of the genus Trichinella in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Additionally, our findings underscore the necessity for targeted epidemiological studies to thoroughly assess trichinellosis prevalence across diverse animal populations. Considering the relatively high frequency of trichinellosis infection in investigated animal species and its public health implications, there is an evident need for establishing an effective trichinellosis surveillance system in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
在波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那，国内和野生动物的食肉动物是动物源性病原体传播和生态学的重要驱动因素，特别是寄生虫病因的病原体。尽管旋毛虫病被认为是最重要的寄生虫性人畜共患病，但在波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那，还没有对动物中的旋毛虫物种进行系统的研究。在波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那进行的为数不多的研究的现有结果主要与在国内猪和野猪的肌肉中确认寄生虫幼虫有关，或者与人类旋毛虫病有关的数据。我们研究的目的是介绍在波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那领土内对 11 种食肉动物中 Trichinella 物种组成的全面调查结果，如下：红狐（Vulpes vulpes）、灰狼（Canis lupus）、棕熊（Ursus arctos）、野猫（Felis silvestris）、松貂（Martes martes）、欧洲獾（Meles meles）、黄鼠狼（Mustela nivalis）、欧洲雪貂（Mustela putorius）、欧亚猞猁（Lynx lynx），还有狗（Canis lupus familiaris）和猫（Felis catus）。
在 2013 年至 2023 年期间，从死后采集了 629 份食肉动物肌肉样本（每份 10 克肌肉组织），并使用人工消化法单独检查。在阳性样本（n=128）中，使用基于 PCR 的技术对寄生虫幼虫的 Trichinella spp. 进行了分子基因分型和鉴定，直至种/基因型水平。使用基本 PCR 检测 Trichinella 属（rrnS rt-PCR 技术）和基因分型（rrnl-EVS rt-PCR 技术）对阳性样本进行了检测。首次在波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那记录到红狐、灰狼、棕熊、狗、獾和欧亚猞猁的旋毛虫感染，感染率为 20.3%。此外，在波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那新确认了 T. britovi 感染，这是首次记录到的病例。此外，在野猫种群中观察到 T. britovi 和 T. pseudospiralis 感染，而在松貂中检测到 T. britovi 和 T. spiralis 感染。与以前的研究一致，我们的研究结果特别与来自德国、芬兰、罗马尼亚、波兰和西班牙等其他国家的食肉动物数据一致，在这些国家，T. britovi 的分布更为广泛（62.5-100%），而 T. spiralis 的分布则较为有限（0.0-37.5%）。T. britovi 在森林食肉动物中更为常见（89.0%），而 T. spiralis 在野猪（62.0%）、家猪（82.0%）和啮齿动物（75.0%）中更为常见。
我们的研究结果代表了在波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那首次对 Trichinella 属种进行的分子鉴定。此外，我们的研究结果强调了需要针对不同动物群体进行有针对性的流行病学研究，以彻底评估旋毛虫病的流行情况。鉴于所调查动物物种中旋毛虫病感染的相对较高频率及其对公共卫生的影响，显然需要在波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那建立有效的旋毛虫病监测系统。
