ANSES awarded a new international mandate on trichinellosis
ANSES’s Laboratory for Animal Health has been designated as a Reference Laboratory for trichinellosis by WOAH, which has appointed Isabelle Vallée, head of the Parasitic Biology and Immunology Unit at ANSES, as the expert in charge of this mandate. The Agency will carry out its missions alongside the other WOAH Reference Laboratories for trichinellosis.
Trichinellosis is a disease caused by parasitic worms belonging to the genus Trichinella. These worms are found in larval form in muscle fibres. The disease can be transmitted to humans through the consumption of undercooked contaminated meat.
The main symptoms of trichinellosis are diarrhoea, fever, facial swelling, muscle pain and, in some cases, neurological signs and vision disorders, with potentially irreversible sequelae. Larval forms of the worms are found in patients’ muscles.
The animals most likely to transmit trichinellosis in Europe are pigs, wild boar and horses. Thanks to the systematic testing at slaughter of susceptible species, human cases have become extremely rare in France. When cases do occur, they are usually associated with the consumption of untested meat that has been illegally imported or comes from game animals.
The Agency was already the National Reference Laboratory for parasitic diseases transmitted to humans through food, including trichinellosis; it has also been a WOAH Collaborating Centre on this subject since 2014. The new mandate is the 18th mandate entrusted to ANSES by WOAH, strengthening the Agency’s role on the international scene.
Supporting WOAH member countries
As a Reference Laboratory, ANSES will provide support to WOAH member countries to strengthen their technical detection capacities and train scientists and laboratory technicians in analytical methods.
The Agency will also be able to support them in crisis situations and organise interlaboratory tests to assess the ability of the laboratories responsible for official Trichinella spp. detection in these countries to perform the required analyses.
Lastly, it will contribute to updating the trichinellosis chapter of the WOAH Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals.
Research to benefit public health
In addition to its reference activities, ANSES carries out research to improve methods for detecting the parasite, develop new prevention strategies and trace the source of infections. It also holds one of the world’s largest collections of Trichinella strains.