<i>Trichinella spiralis</i> Infecting Wild Boars in Southern Chile: Evidence of an Underrated Risk

Abstract

Trichinellosis in Chilean wild animals has scarcely been documented. The introduction of wild boars into the wild environment represents a viable new host with a potential risk of infection for human health. The aim of this study was to determine the presence and prevalence of <i>Trichinella</i> in wild boars. Two hundred seventy eight wild boars from of the Southern Chile were examined by compression and artificial digestion techniques. The larvae in the positive samples were collected for taxonomic analysis through polymerase chain reaction-inter-simple sequence repeats and to calculate the parasitic burden. A prevalence of 1.8% (5/278) of infected animals and an average parasitic burden of 6.8 ± 2.1 larvae per gram were estimated. The only species identified by molecular techniques was <i>Trichinella spiralis</i>. Prevalence of <i>T. spiralis</i> in wild boars was similar to those described around the world. <i>T. spiralis</i> infection rate and parasite burden detected in Chilean wild boars represent a certain food-borne risk for human population.