Low levels of Trichinella spp. antibodies detected in domestic pigs at selected slaughterhouses with farm-based exposure assessment in Bulacan, Philippines

Emerging zoonotic diseases in Southeast Asia in the period 2011-2022: a systematic literature review

As COVID-19 has shown, pandemics and outbreaks of emerging infections such as Zika, Nipah, monkeypox and antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, especially emerging zoonotic diseases, continue to occur and may even be increasing in Southeast Asia. In addition, these infections often result from environmental changes and human behaviour. Overall, public health surveillance to identify gaps in the literature and early warning signs are essential in this region. A systematic review investigated the prevalence of emerging zoonotic diseases over 11 years from 2011 to 2022 in Southeast Asia to understand the status of emerging zoonotic diseases, as well as to provide necessary actions for disease control and prevention in the region. During the 2011-2022 period, studies on pigs, poultry, ruminants, companion animals and wildlife in Southeast Asia were reviewed thoroughly to assess the quality of reporting items for inclusion in the systematic review. The review was performed on 26 studies of pigs, 6 studies of poultry, 21 studies of ruminants, 28 studies of companion animals and 25 studies of wildlife in Southeast Asia, which provide a snapshot of the prevalence of the emerging zoonotic disease across the country. The findings from the review showed that emerging zoonotic diseases were prevalent across the region and identified a few zoonotic diseases associated with poultry, mainly stemming from Cambodia and Vietnam, as high priority in Southeast Asia.Clinical relevance: Appropriate prevention and control measures should be taken to mitigate the emerging zoonotic diseases in Southeast Asia.

Human trichinellosis in Southeast Asia, 2001-2021

To present the situation of human trichinellosis in Southeast Asia in the last 20th years we analyzed outbreak data and seroprevalence studies from 2001 to 2021 for this region. We queried PubMed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) using keywords “Trichinella”, “human” and “Southeast Asia”. In addition, we described Trichinella species circulating in this region.

In Southeast Asia, in communities eating pork, several cultural factors play important roles in the transmission of Trichinella to humans. The seroprevalences of Trichinella infection in humans are known for Laos and Vietnam to be 0–10.5% in some villages. Also, in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam relatively few human outbreaks (13) and cases (1604) have been recorded during the last 21st years. Their associated mortality rates were low (0.75%). Trichinella spiralis and T. papuae were transmitted after consumption of raw or undercooked pork from domesticated and wild pigs. T. papuae transmission was related to consumption of wild boar. In this region, trichinellosis was frequently subclinical and clinical or severe cases were sporadic and occurred more in male patients. Nevertheless, it is likely that trichinellosis is widely under-diagnosed and is an endemic disease.

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In Southeast Asia, trichinellosis occurred mostly in rural populations eating pork or boar meat.

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Since 2001, the majority of cases have been reported in northern Laos and Thailand.

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Trichinella spiralis and T. papuae have been isolated as causative species.

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There is no veterinary surveillance for Trichinella, except in Singapore.