Water and foodborne contamination *
Jamie Bartram, Rachel Baum, Peter A. Coclanis, David M. Gute, David Kay, Stéphanie McFadyen, Katherine Pond, William Robertson, Michael J. Rouse in Routledge Handbook of Water and Health, 2015
There are three groups of helminths that are parasitic to humans: tapeworms, roundworms, and flukes. Tapeworms (e.g., Taeniaspp., Hymenolepis spp., Echinococcusspp.) reside in the intestinal tract and can cause discomfort, diarrhea, and/or anemia. Flukes parasitize blood (i.e., blood flukes) and/or organ tissue (i.e., tissue flukes). Clonorchis sinesisand Paragonimus westermaniare two genera of foodborne tissue flukes that infect the liver and lungs, respectively. Clonorchis sinesisinfection can cause nausea, diarrhea, weight loss, jaundice, bacterial infections, inflammation, and cancer. Paragonimus westermani symptoms may include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, and/or hives. In severe cases, Paragonimus westermani infection causes headaches, vomiting, seizures, and death if left untreated. Roundworms are distinguished from both tapeworms and flukes by the presence of a tubular digestive system. Ascaris lumbricoides, a type of roundworm, compromises nutritional status and can cause anemia, stunting, and cognitive deficiencies. A second type of roundworm, Trichinellaspp., is one of the most common foodborne helminths. Symptoms of infection include nausea, vomiting, sweating, diarrhea, and/or fever. If left untreated, infections can lead to intense muscular pain, difficulty breathing, heart damage, kidney malfunction, and/or death as the parasite migrates from the site of first infection (typically the intestinal mucosa) to other host organs.
Trichinella
Dongyou Liu in Laboratory Models for Foodborne Infections, 2017
Trichinella spp. are unique among various helminthes in that all three life cycle stages of the parasite-infective muscle larvae, adult, and newborn larvae develop in one host. Infection is acquired by consumption of infected raw or undercooked meat. Under the influence of gastric juice, larvae are released from infected meat in the stomach, molt, and develop into the adult stage inside the enterocytes of small intestine. After mating, newborn larvae move into the circulation and spread throughout the tissues and organs, and only those that penetrate striated muscles mature into muscle larvae [6]. This parasite has ability to transform the infected muscle cell into a new type of cell in the host body, the so-called nurse cell (NC) [7,8]. From this immunologically privileged place, parasite achieves long-lasting communication with the host through muscle larvae excretory-secretory products (ES).
Trichinella
Dongyou Liu in Handbook of Foodborne Diseases, 2018
Trichinella spp. are transmitted from one animal to another, including humans, solely by the ingestion of skeletal muscle tissues infected with Trichinella larvae. Wild mammals serve as the major reservoir hosts. The importance of carnivorous birds or reptile species (crocodiles, monitor lizards, and perhaps carnivorous turtles) in the natural cycle of these parasites is still unclear.7–9 The main source of infection for humans is meat or meat-derived products from pigs, followed by wild pigs (e.g., wild boar, warthog, and bush-pig), horses, and several carnivores such as walrus, bears (polar bear, brawn bear, black bear, and Asian black bear), dog, fox, jackal, cougar, and badger.10 The consumption of raw meat from raw soft-shelled turtles has been also implicated as a source of infection for humans, but these nematodes have never been detected in turtles.11–13
Epidemiology and management of foodborne nematodiasis in the European Union, systematic review 2000–2016
Published in Pathogens and Global Health, 2018
Marta Serrano-Moliner, María Morales-Suarez-Varela, M. Adela Valero
Trichinella spp is the most important parasite of this study from a public health point of view. It is a parasite that causes a very aggressive clinical picture and can cause the death of the host. Its transmission would be avoidable if the current European legislation regarding meat processing was adhered to. Outbreaks of this parasitic infection occur when meat from hunted animals is consumed [41] or when corresponding laws are not complied with [61]. As shown in Table 6, trichinellosis does not decrease over the years and the detected cases oscillated; therefore, it is not a controlled disease. To avoid the presence of Trichinella in meat intended for human consumption, areas, where wildlife and livestock holdings coexist, should be subject to a strict monitoring program.
Use of genetically modified lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria as live delivery vectors for human and animal health
Published in Gut Microbes, 2022
Romina Levit, Naima G. Cortes-Perez, Alejandra de Moreno de Leblanc, Jade Loiseau, Anne Aucouturier, Philippe Langella, Jean Guy LeBlanc, Luis G. Bermúdez-Humarán
Trichinellosis is a disease caused by the parasitic nematode Trichinella. Infection in humans is caused by the consumption of larvae present in raw or undercooked meat.121 A vaccine against Trichinella (T.) spiralis was developed using a strain of L. plantarum coexpressing the T. spiralis cathepsin F-like protease 1 gene (TsCPF1) and murine IL-4 (mIL-4). After immunization, mice showed the production of specific antibodies which protected against T. spiralis infection.69
Correlates of Immune Response in Trichinella spiralis Infection
Published in Immunological Investigations, 2018
Eun-Kyung Moon, Su-Hwa Lee, Yunsoo Soh, Yuan-Ri Guo, Ying Piao, Fu-Shi Quan
Trichinella spiralis is distributed worldwide. It has been found in rodents, pigs, horses, bears, and humans, causing a disease called trichinellosis (Franssen et al., 2011). Infection in animals or humans occurs after ingestion of Trichinella larvae that are encysted in muscle tissues of domestic or wild animal meat. Upon infection, T. spiralis larvae will reach the host’s intestinal tract and become adults. Each adult female produces batches of live larvae. These larvae can bore through the intestinal wall and enter the blood and lymphatic system. They are then carried to the striated muscle (Chu et al., 2014). T. spiralis infection induces host immune responses, including antibodies, T cells, mast cells, eosinophils, and neutrophils as immune reaction to this nematode (Bruschi and Chiumiento, 2012). Antibody response against T. spiralis in infected rats has been reported to be dose dependent. A positive correlation between the number of recovered muscle larvae and serum antibody levels has been found (Franssen et al., 2011). However, whether serum antibody level is positively correlated with infective stage is currently unclear. Serum antibody response is a useful tool for detecting T. spiralis in rats, mice, and humans for diagnosis purpose (Chu et al., 2016; Franssen et al., 2011; Kim et al., 2011). Without detecting T. spiralis-specific antibody response in serum, it is difficult to make a clinical diagnosis of trichinellosis because signs and symptoms of trichinellosis in humans are nonspecific, mimicking many other illnesses. Increased levels of eosinophils in blood or tissue have been historically recognized as a distinctive feature of helminth infections in mammals (Behm and Ovington, 2000). T. spiralis-specific serum antibody response, blood eosinophil response, and a history of consuming potentially contaminated meat are needed to support its clinical diagnosis.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Ectoderm
- Endoderm
- Epidemiology
- Mebendazole
- Trichinosis
- Intracellular Parasite
- Microbial Cyst
- Artificial Digestion
- Tiabendazole