Trichinella britovi in a leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) in Iran

Abstract

Nematodes of the genus Trichinella are zoonotic parasites with a cosmopolitan distribution. In Iran, these parasites have mainly been detected in carnivorous mammals, yet information on the Trichinella taxa circulating in this country date back to a time when biochemical and molecular tests were not available. We describe the first detection of Trichinella larvae in a leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) in Asia and its identification at the species level. The larvae recovered from the leopard muscles were identified as Trichinella britovi using multiplex PCR. The detection of Trichinella infection in a leopard confirms literature data on the high prevalence of infection in carnivorous mammals in Iran.

Introduction

Parasite worms of the genus Trichinella are zoonotic nematodes with a cosmopolitan distribution (Pozio and Murrell, 2006). There are eight currently recognised Trichinella species and four genotypes, each of which is characterised by their host pattern and distribution (Pozio et al., 2009a). Human trichinellosis, formerly known as “trichinosis” or “trichiniasis”, has been documented in 55 countries worldwide, with a yearly occurrence of about 10,000 clinical cases (Pozio, 2007).

The circulation of Trichinella in wild and/or domestic animals does not always mean that humans will become infected, in that eating habits play an important role in transmission (Pozio, 2007). In Muslim countries, human trichinellosis was believed to be practically non-existent because of the almost nil consumption of pork, which is strictly prohibited for religious reasons. However, the recent occurrence of outbreaks and single cases in Algeria, Israel, Lebanon and Turkey (Pozio, 2007) strongly suggests that the risk of acquiring trichinellosis from domestic or sylvatic animals also exists in these countries and that it is thus important to monitor the circulation of these zoonotic parasites.

In Iran in the past, only one case of human infection has been reported and was due to the consumption of pork from a wild boar (Sus scrofa), although there was insufficient evidence for a definitive diagnosis (Moin, 1966). More recently, an outbreak of trichinellosis involving six persons occurred for the consumption of pork from a wild boar hunted in the Javaher–Dasht forest (Siahkal, Gilan province) (Kia et al., 2008). Trichinella spp. were first detected in wild boars (Afshar and Jahfarzadeh, 1967) and later in seven carnivorous mammal species and one rodent species (Meriones persicus) in several of the country's regions (Mobedi et al., 1973, Sadighian et al., 1973, Massoud, 1978, Hamidi, 1979, Mowlavi et al., 2000). In the present work, we describe the detection of Trichinella sp. larvae in a leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) in Iran, which is the first report of an infected leopard in Asia.