Does congenital trichinellosis exist? Fabrizio Bruschi1 and Yves Carlier2
1Department of Translational Research, N.T.M., Università di Pisa, Medical School, Via Roma, 55,
56126 Pisa, Italy
2Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CP 616,
Route de Lennik 808, 1070 Brussels, Belgium
In the recent review on human parasitic congenital infections by one of us [1] trichinellosis was not considered among possible congenital helminth infections. However, this zoonosis is worth some consideration.
The question of the occurrence of congenital trichinellosis in humans is far from being elucidated. Transplacental passage of migrant larvae to the offspring has been described in many mammal species such as rats, rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs and mice [cited in 2]. In human trichinellosis, there are few reports of the transplacental passage of migrant larvae to the foetus [3]. During the large outbreaks caused by horsemeat in France, in 1985, two out of ten infected and pregnant women experienced abortion, however the standard histopathological analysis either of the placentas or of one foetus did not reveal any parasite [4].
In a small series of four cases, during an outbreak occurred in Argentina, Trichinella-specific IgE antibodies were detected in one infant 10 months after birth, whereas IgM antibodies were not detected [2]. More recently, in a survey on 200 pregnant women who were followed during different trichinellosis outbreaks having occurred in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, 14 pregnant women were confirmed to suffer from trichinellosis, one of them experienced spontaneous abortion after 26 weeks of gestation, but no born infant was symptomatic or serologically positive [5].
Although these data let us consider congenital trichinellosis as a rare possible event in humans, special attention is to be recommended in the management and treatment of pregnant women possibly involved in a trichinellosis outbreak.
References
1. Carlier Y, Truyens C, Deloron P, Peyron F. (2012) Congenital parasitic infections: A review. Acta Tropica, 121: 55-70.
2 Nunez GG, Costantino SN, Gentile T, Venturiello SM (2008) Immunoparasitological evaluation of Trichinella spiralis infection during human pregnancy:a small case series. Trans. Royal Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg.102: 662-668.
3 Dubinsky, P., Boor, A., Kincekova, J., Tomasovikova, O., Reiterova, O., Bielik, P. (2001). Congenital trichinellosis? Case report. Parasite 8 (2 Suppl.), S180—S182.
4 Ancelle T., Dupouy-Camet J., Bougnoux M.E., Fourestié V., Petit H., Mougeot G., Nozais J.P., Lapierre J. (1988). Two outbreaks of trichinosis caused by horsemeat in France in 1985. Am. J. Epidemiol., 127: 1302-1311.
5 Taybouavone T, Haia T.N., Odermatt P, Keoluangkhot V, Delanos-Gregoire N, Dupouy-Camet J, Strobel M, Barennes H. (2009) Trichinellosis during pregnancy: A case control study in the Lao Peoples’ Democratic Republic. Vet. Parasitol. 159: 332-336
