Human trichinellosis in Hungary from 1965 to 2009*

Abstract

Human trichinellosis was first documented in Hungary in 1891 and then there were an increased number of reports up to 1964 when the most severe outbreak occurred. After that, no information was available on the international literature on human trichinellosis which occurred from 1965 up to the present years. The aim of this study was to collect all the data available in Hungarian official data-sources on human trichinellosis which occurred from 1965 up to 2009 in Hungary. Furthermore, a comparative analysis was performed on the different serological tests used along the 45 years of investigation. In the period in question, 573 infections were documented in Hungary. Of them, 57 occurred in the years 1965-69, 130 in 1970-79, 302 in 1980-89, 27 in 1990-99, and 57 in 2000-09. The most common sources of infection were pork from backyard pigs and hunted wild boars. Sporadic cases and small family outbreaks marked the last ten years. The comparison of serological tests shows that the ELISA is a good test for the first screening, but ELISA-positive serum samples should be confirmed by western blot except for clinically clear-cut cases.

Keywords

• trichinellosis
• epidemiology
• serology
• backyard pig
• wild boar
• Hungary