METHODS FOR THE DETECTION OF TRICHINOSIS IN HORSES

Citation
Hr. Gamble et al., METHODS FOR THE DETECTION OF TRICHINOSIS IN HORSES, Journal of food protection, 59(4), 1996, pp. 420-425
Citations number
21
Categorie Soggetti
Food Science & Tenology","Biothechnology & Applied Migrobiology
Journal title
ISSN journal
0362028X
Volume
59
Issue
4
Year of publication
1996
Pages
420 - 425
Database
ISI
SICI code
0362-028X(1996)59:4<420:MFTDOT>2.0.ZU;2-G
Abstract
Twelve horses were infected with various doses of Trichinella spiralis and then tested for infection using direct (artificial digestion) and indirect (enzyme immunoassay) methods. Horses became infected in a do se-dependent manner. Larvae accumulated preferentially in the tongue, followed by the masseter, neck, supraspinatus, trapezius, and diaphrag m. At lower infection levels, the tongue harbored several times more p arasites than were found in other tissues. The sensitivity of artifici al digestion methods for detecting infections was directly related to sample size. One-gram samples were not reliable for detecting infectio n levels of <3 larvae per g (LPG). In sample sizes of 5 or 10 g the te chnique allowed infections as low as 1 LPG to be detected. The enzyme immunoassay (EIA) detected all infected horses; the times following in fection at which horses became seropositive varied in a dose-dependent manner, but 11 of 12 horses were positive in the EIA. by 4 weeks post inoculation. One horse, with a larval density in the tongue of 0.39 LP G, did not become seropositive until 7 weeks postinoculation. The resu lts suggest that artificial digestion of horse carcasses for trichinae should concentrate on tissue samples from the tongue or masseter musc les. Sample sizes should be a minimum of 5 g using pooled-sample diges tion methods to assure detection of all infections which might pose a human health risk. The EIA is a potential substitute for artificial di gestion methods and could also be useful for antemortem testing and fo r epidemiological studies.