Seroepidemiological survey of Trichinella spiralis infection in central China

A community-based seroepidemiological survey of Trichinella spiralis infection in humans was carried out in 5 villages in Henan Province, central China. Finger-prick blood samples were collected fi om 2441 individuals aged more than two years. Anti-Trichinella antibodies for immunoglobulin G (IgG) were detected by indirect fluorescentat antibody (IFA) test using frozen sections of the larvae as antigen. The overall seroprevalence was 4.9 %. Seropositivity tended to increase with age ranging fi om 1.9 % in children under 7 years of age to 7.8 % in those over 45 years old. Seroprevalences did nor differ significantly between males and females, and among different professional individuals, but increased with educational levels, and related with the use of one set of tableware for cooked food and raw meat. The results demonstrated that there was a high prevalence of Trichinella infection in central China, and the inspection of meat for Trichinella larvae and health education should be carried out in this region.