Seroepidemiological studies on five outbreaks of trichinellosis in southern Spain

Five outbreaks of trichinellosis, involving 86 people, took place in Andalucía (Southern Spain) between 1984 and 1987. Four of them were caused by eating infected pork and one by eating wild boar meat. The human sera were analysed by the immunofluorescence assay test, which showed circulating anti-Trichinella antibody titres of up to 1:10240. A micro-ELISA test, carried out with sera from two of the outbreaks, revealed the presence of circulating antigens 68 and 78 days after infection. Finally, 11 of 17 samples of products prepared with pork and wild boar meat showed Trichinella larvae after acid-pepsin digestion. The close geographical localization of three of the outbreaks suggests that the southwestern corner of Spain is an endemic focus of trichinellosis.