{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]],"date-time":"2026-02-19T02:57:28Z","timestamp":1771469848002,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,16]],"date-time":"2023-12-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1702684800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Trichinellosis in Croatia posed a significant health concern during the 1990s, followed by a notable improvement in the epidemiological situation. However, in 2017, there was a resurgence, with 37 recorded cases in 3 outbreaks and 3 sporadic cases. The source of this epidemic was homemade meat products derived from wild boar meat, leading to 26 infections. Methods: At the beginning of the outbreak and during the treatment of the patients, the medical and epidemiological records prepared throughout the investigation and over the course of patient treatment were reviewed. The recovery of the first-stage (L1) larvae from suspect meat products was achieved by artificial digestion. The molecular identification of the isolated larvae was performed by multiplex PCR. The molecular identification of the meat used to prepare the meat products was performed by real-time PCR assays. Results: The epidemic started in early 2017. In total, 71 exposed persons were documented: 26 with clinical symptoms and 3 hospitalised in two cities in different counties. The L1 burden in three different meat products was from 5.25 to 7.08 larvae per gram (LPG), and T. spiralis was determined as the aetiological agent of the outbreak. The molecular and biological identification confirmed that implicated meat products were made solely from wild boar meat. Conclusions: Although trichinellosis is no longer a frequent occurrence in Croatia, several cases are still registered nearly every year. Wild boar meat poses an important risk factor for human health if compulsory testing is not conducted before consumption, especially if the meat products are consumed without proper thermal processing.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms11122995","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,18]],"date-time":"2023-12-18T05:41:35Z","timestamp":1702878095000},"page":"2995","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["A Large-Scale Outbreak of Trichinellosis from Infected Wild Boar Meat in Croatia and the Role of Real-Time PCR Assays in Confirming the Source of the Disease"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Davor","family":"Bali\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Croatian Veterinary Institute, Department Vinkovci\u2014National Reference Laboratory for Parasites (Genus Trichinella), 32100 Vinkovci, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tomislav","family":"Dijani\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Public Health Institute of Osijek-Baranja County, 31000 Osijek, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marija","family":"Agi\u010di\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Croatian Veterinary Institute, Department Vinkovci\u2014National Reference Laboratory for Parasites (Genus Trichinella), 32100 Vinkovci, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Josip","family":"Bari\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Inspectorate of the Republic of Croatia, Osijek Regional Office\u2014Vinkovci Branch Office, 32100 Vinkovci, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Kaltenbrunner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AGES\u2014Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Institute for Food Safety Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-8403-8362","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hrvoje","family":"Krajina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Croatian Veterinary Institute, Department Vinkovci\u2014National Reference Laboratory for Parasites (Genus Trichinella), 32100 Vinkovci, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9792-7616","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rupert","family":"Hochegger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AGES\u2014Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Institute for Food Safety Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6638-0507","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mario","family":"\u0160krivanko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Croatian Veterinary Institute, Department Vinkovci\u2014National Reference Laboratory for Parasites (Genus Trichinella), 32100 Vinkovci, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Karlo","family":"Ko\u017eul","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Public Health Institute of Osijek-Baranja County, 31000 Osijek, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"64","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fm.2016.12.012","article-title":"Meat sources of infection for outbreaks of human trichinellosis","volume":"64","author":"Rostami","year":"2017","journal-title":"Food Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"543","DOI":"10.3201\/eid0605.000517","article-title":"Trichinella pseudospiralis in France","volume":"5","author":"Ranque","year":"2000","journal-title":"Emerg. 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