Some cases of trichinellosis found during this season have raised the level of consumer attention. In the Lombardy Region from January 2020 to date they have been conferred at the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna and tested for the research of Trichinella spp. 5436 samples of slaughtered wild boar muscle, of which 295 in Brescia. This surveillance activity, carried out in compliance with the provisions of the regional monitoring plano and health control of wildlife, has allowed the identification of four samples taken from four wild boar carcasses killed in the region, positive for Trichinella britovi.
These positivity are significant of the possibility that this parasite may actually be present in the meat of wild boars killed in our Region and they must lead to a scrupulous application of surveillance measures. The transmission of this zoonotic parasite occurs through the ingestion of meat infested by the parasite's larvae which, once the reproductive cycle in the intestine has been completed, encyst in the striated muscles waiting to be able to infest a new host. Sometimes the parasite larvae can mistakenly migrate to the heart or brain causing very serious damage. Trichinella spp. it is a small cylindrical worm spread all over the world able to parasitize the striated muscles of all mammals, including humans.
In general it is mostly found in carnivorous and omnivorous species, like wild boar, precisely because of the dietary attitudes of these. To cope with this parasitosis, which is rare, but still present in the Lombard fauna, the regulations require the health control of all the meat of the wild boars hunted regardless of the fate of the meat. Have the samples taken from the slaughtered wild boars examined by the competent health authoritiesby observing at the same time some basic sanitation measures, it guarantees the healthiness of their meat, a practice well established in our beltlai teams. It is important to know that meat is salted, dried, smoked and cooked in the microwave they do not ensure the killing of the parasite. Episodes of positivity in wild boars are sporadic phenomena due to the presence of a wild cycle of this parasite, but potentially present, as shown by the positivity cited. We therefore recommend close collaboration with the health authorities from all over the hunting world and the exclusive use of wild boar meat subjected to the required health checks.