First detection of Trichinella pseudospiralis infection in raccoon (Procyon lotor) in Central Europe

Vet Parasitol. 2018 Apr 30;254:114-119. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2018.03.007. Epub 2018 Mar 14. . Cybulska A1, Skopek R2, Kornacka A2, Popiołek M3, Piróg A4, Laskowski Z2, Moskwa B2. Author information 1 Witold Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 00-818 Warsaw, Twarda 51/55, Poland. Electronic address: cybulska.aleksandra@twarda.pan.pl. 2 Witold Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 00-818 Warsaw, Twarda 51/55, Poland. 3 Department of Parasitology, Institute of Genetics and Microbiology, Wrocław University, 51-148 Wrocław, Przybyszewskiego 63/77, Poland. 4 Institute of Biology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-631 Wrocław, Kożuchowska 5b, Poland. Abstract The raccoon (Procyon lotor) is a North American carnivore introduced to Europe in the 20th Century. Raccoons are believed to be the potential hosts of many parasites, or to be involved in their transmission to other animals. Nematodes of the genus Trichinella can infect many carnivorous and omnivorous animals worldwide. The aim of the present study was to determine the occurrence of Trichinella spp. infection in raccoons in Central Europe. Muscle samples were collected from various regions of Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany during the years 2012-2016. The larvae of Trichinella spp. were detected in 11 raccoons, and these were identified as T. spiralis and T. pseudospiralis by multiplex PCR (89.9% and 9.1%, respectively). No mixed infection was observed. This is the first report describing the occurrence of T. spiralis and T. pseudospiralis in P. lotor in Central Europe. Our findings also show that the raccoon population acts as a reservoir of Trichinella pseudospiralis. KEYWORDS: Procyon lotor; Raccoon; Sylvatic cycle; Trichinella pseudospiralis PMID: 29656995 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2018.03.007