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First report of Trichinella britovi in Serbia

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Abstract

In Europe, Serbia ranks among countries with a high prevalence of Trichinella infection in pigs, which continues to be a serious human health problem. While in some Balkan countries, more than one Trichinella species/genotype has been described in both the sylvatic and domestic cycles, these data are lacking for Serbia. To date, only a few Serbian isolates of Trichinella have been genetically specified, and all were classified as T. spiralis. Although transmission of Trichinella from domestic pigs to wildlife could be assumed, neither the infection status nor the species of Trichinella circulating among wildlife in Serbia has been investigated. This study shows the presence of two Trichinella species, T. spiralis and T. britovi, in wild animals originating from five districts in Serbia, where Trichinella infections in domestic pigs and humans have been recorded. Trichinella spiralis was detected in jackals (n = 3), red foxes (n = 2) and a wild cat (n = 1). We also established that wolves (n = 4) and red foxes (n = 2) serve as sylvatic reservoirs for T. britovi. This is the first report on the presence of T. britovi in Serbia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Immunology and Immunoparasitology, Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy — INEP, University of Belgrade, Banatska 31b, 11080, Belgrade, Serbia

    Jelena Cvetkovic, Sasa Vasilev & Ljiljana Sofronic-Milosavljevic

  2. Department for Food Hygiene and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Oslobodjenja 18, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia

    Vlado Teodorovic & Dragan Vasilev

  3. Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immunomediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy

    Gianluca Marucci

  4. Department of Animal Ecology and Geography, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia

    Dusko Cirovic

Authors
  1. Jelena Cvetkovic
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  2. Vlado Teodorovic
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  3. Gianluca Marucci
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  4. Dragan Vasilev
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  5. Sasa Vasilev
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  6. Dusko Cirovic
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  7. Ljiljana Sofronic-Milosavljevic
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Correspondence to Ljiljana Sofronic-Milosavljevic.

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Cvetkovic, J., Teodorovic, V., Marucci, G. et al. First report of Trichinella britovi in Serbia. Acta Parasit. 56, 232–235 (2011). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11686-011-0022-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11686-011-0022-1

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