An outbreak of Trichinella spiralis infection in southern
Lebanon
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abstract
An outbreak of trichinosis occurred during January 1995 in a south
Lebanese village with a
population of 800–1000 persons. The estimated number of persons treated
for a Trichinella-like
illness was 200. Sixty-three persons sought medical attention at a local
infirmary: 44 of them
were diagnosed as having trichinosis or suspected trichinosis according
to
their clinical symptoms, signs and laboratory tests. An environmental investigation
indicated that the source
of infection was pork obtained from a single butcher in the village and
consumed uncooked, as
an ingredient of ‘kubeniye’ (a local dish), during
Christmas and New Year's meals. Sera of
patients, suspected patients, and asymptomatic controls were tested for
the presence of anti-Trichinella antibodies. Eight (89%) of the
9
tested patients were positive, 1 (11%) was
negative. Among the 7 suspected patients, 2 (28·5%) were
positive, 3 (42·9%) had equivocal
results, and 2 (28·5%) were negative. Among the 20 asymptomatic
persons,
3 (15%) were
positive, 12 (60%) negative and 5 (25%) had equivocal results. Specimens
from the implicated
pork meat were examined by microscopy and were found to contain encysted
larvae of
Trichinella spiralis. This outbreak of trichinosis is one of the
largest reported. Previous
outbreaks in Lebanon occurred under very similar circumstances, indicating
a need to control
and prevent the trading of pork meat that is not under veterinary control,
and to increase the awareness of the population for this problem.
