Epidemiological Studies on Porcine Trichinellosis in Five States of North East India

Background: This study was carried out to evaluate the epidemiological studies of trichinellosis in five states of North East India from Apr 2016 to Dec 2017. Methods: Overall, 865 different meat samples for detection of Trichinella larvae and 1580 sera samples for detection of anti-Trichinella antibody were collected. Intensity of infection with Trichinella larvae in meat was determined by HCL: Pepsin digestion procedure and anti-Trichinella IgG in serum were detected using excretory/secretory antigens, according to validated ELISA. Results: No Trichinella larva was detected by HCL: Pepsin digestion method. However, four (0.25%) samples were seropositive for Trichinella IgG and four inconclusive results as per cut off value. The highest seroprevalence was observed in Meghalaya (0.41%) followed by Assam (0.27%) whereas no seropositive cases were recorded in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Tripura. Conclusion: Trichinellosis is common in North East, India. However, it is suspected in communities where more than 75% of the population relish pork. Finally, there is a need for more research to establish the facts of trichinellosis in this region. Thus, public awareness, food hygiene, monitoring, and surveillance programme are suggested to implement for prevention of trichinellosis in this region.