A Community-Based Study to Estimate the Seroprevalence of Trichinellosis and Echinococcosis in the Roma and Non-Roma Population of Slovakia

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 15; no. 2; p. 251
• Main Authors: Antolová, Daniela, Halánová, Monika, Janičko, Martin, Jarčuška, Peter, Reiterová, Katarína, Jarošová, Júlia, Madarasová Gecková, Andrea, Pella, Daniel, Dražilová, Sylvia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 02-02-2018; MDPI
• Subjects: Adult; Alveoli; Antigens; Back pain; Blotting, Western; Communities; Cough; Echinococcosis; Echinococcosis - ethnology; Echinococcus; Echinococcus multilocularis; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Epidemics; Fatigue; Female; Headache; Housing; Humans; Immunoglobulins; Infections; Infectious diseases; Living conditions; Middle Aged; Minority & ethnic groups; Muscles; Muscular fatigue; Pain; Parasites; Parasitic diseases; Population; Roma - statistics & numerical data; Segregation; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Slovakia - epidemiology; Trichinella; Trichinellosis; Trichinellosis - ethnology; Variance analysis; Slovakia; Echinococcus multilocularis; Roma population; Trichinella spp; Slovakia; Echinococcus granulosus
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15020251

Trichinellosis and cystic and alveolar echinococcosis are serious parasitic diseases transmissible between animals and humans. Moreover, alveolar echinococcosis is considered one of the most dangerous of human helminthoses. Roma communities are particularly numerous in Central and Eastern Europe. They are often concentrated in economically undeveloped regions and live in segregated localities with unsatisfactory housing and sanitary conditions. The study aimed to find out the seroprevalence of
and
infections in the Roma population of segregated settlements and to compare it with the seropositivity of the non-Roma population of eastern Slovakia. Out of 823 samples, three sera showed seropositivity to
in the ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test. Subsequent Western blot reaction (WB) confirmed seropositivity in two Roma women. ELISA seropositivity to
was recorded in six persons (0.73%), and five (0.61%) respondents were seropositive to
, but WB confirmed the presence of antibodies to
spp. in one Roma participant. Positive persons suffered from unspecific clinical symptoms;
-positive persons reported headache, cough, fatigue, and muscle pain. The
-positive participant suffered from headache and back pain. The study showed that the worse living conditions of the Roma community did not significantly influence the occurrence of
and
infections in this minority.