National occurrence reporting of Trichinella and trichinellosis using a computerized database

Historical and contemporary national data on the occurrence and distribution of Trichinella and trichinellosis in people, domestic animals and wildlife in Canada have been incorporated into a computerized database, the Canada Database of Animal Parasites (CDAP). This database was established in 1998, and contains similar information on several other helminth and protozoan parasites which are of importance in animal health, human health, food safety or trade. The CDAP is a unique assemblage of national information on parasite occurrences, not available from any other single source. This paper describes the CDAP, with emphasis on sources of data, database structure and outputs, logistical issues associated with database development and maintenance, and the application of the CDAP to Trichinella surveillance at a national level. It is suggested that the CDAP, or a similar approach, could be applied in other countries for assembling data on Trichinella and trichinellosis.