Mixed infection, Trichinella spiralis and Trichinella britovi, in a wild boar hunted in the Province of Cáceres (Spain).

Abstract

The etiological agents of human trichinellosis are distributed worldwide in domestic and wild animals. In Spain, two morphologically indistinguishable Trichinella species have been described--Trichinella spiralis and Trichinella britovi--that are perpetuated in both domestic and sylvatic cycles. The present work reports a double natural infection involving these species in a wild boar killed by hunters in the Province of Cáceres, Spain. After artificial digestion of the boar's muscles, nine larvae/g were collected. These were characterized by multiplex-PCR and Western-blotting using the Trichinella-specific monoclonal antibodies US5 and US9, and both T. spiralis and T. britovi were detected. The mechanism by which this wild boar came to acquire a mixed infection remains unclear.