The infection in detail
In recent days the presence of Trichinella in a wild boar killed during hunting activity near Aosta. This was announced by the Hygiene service for foods of animal origin of the Prevention department of the Aosta Valley Local Health Authority. Trichinellosis is a parasitic disease that can infest mammals and other animals, especially carnivores or omnivores, and can also affect humans if they eat infested meat.
ASL checks
The parasite was found following the checks that are mandatory carried out by Local Health Authority veterinarians on all pigs and wild boars bred or hunted. “For many years – explains the director of the Hygiene of foods of animal origin structure, Emilio Bazzocchi – research for Trichinella has been mandatory on the meat of all pigs (pigs and wild boars) intended for human consumption. Hunters are well aware of this practice which forces them to call the vet before consuming the meat of hunted wild boars.
Hunters and slaughter
However, it is always advisable to reiterate to all those who hunt wild boars or slaughter pigs to wait for official communication of the favorable outcome before consuming and/or using the meat in order to avoid unnecessary health risks due to an insidious and difficult to diagnose disease. Also because the interval between one detection and another is getting shorter: to date, in Valle d'Aosta, four cases of positivity for Trichinella have been reported in wild boars: in 2001 in Verrès, in 2008 in Saint-Pierre, in 2012 in Hône and, more recently, in 2021 in Avise. Yesterday's one was found just two years after the last discovery."