By NewsDesk @bactiman63
Faced with the detection of three outbreaks in cities in the province of Buenos Aires and Córdoba, the Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases issued an alert for the population to take preventive measures in time and avoid the transmission of trichinosis.
Image/CDC
Outbreaks of the parasitic disease were recorded in the towns of Cañuelas and Chascomús, in the province of Buenos Aires, and Villa del Totoral, Córdoba. As reported to Infobae by the Buenos Aires Ministry of Health, since the beginning of the epidemiological calendar 2021, 321 suspected cases of trichinosis have been reported. Of that total, 61 were confirmed to have the disease. Cases have been reported in Cañuelas, Chascomús, Florentino Ameghino, La Plata, La Matanza, and Lomas de Zamora.
“Between autumn and spring, there are generally outbreaks of trichinosis because they are associated with the fact that some people do home slaughter of pigs without control and this favors the transmission of the parasite that causes the disease”, explained Vanesa Defeis, biologist of the surveillance department epidemiological and outbreak control of the Ministry of Health of the province of Buenos Aires. “The cases are treated with drugs and so far no deaths have been recorded,” she clarified.
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“When a case is diagnosed, close people who have consumed pork are alerted so that they are aware of the symptoms. Because the infection has an incubation period of up to 45 days ”, clarified Defeis.
Meanwhile, the Commission for Endemic and Emerging Diseases of the Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases issued the alert and went out to clarify what the symptoms are and what recommendations must be taken into account. The clinical picture of trichinosis is highly variable in humans. It can present from an asymptomatic infection to a serious illness. It is characterized initially by gastrointestinal symptoms followed by eyelid edema, fever, and muscle aches or pains. If it worsens, the patient could present neurological and cardiac disorders.
“Trichinosis is a cosmopolitan parasitic disease.
Argentina and Chile are considered endemic countries of trichinosis. In the rest of the countries of the South American region, no cases of trichinosis have been reported in humans for many years, ” Dr. Pía Machuca, who is a member of the commission that issued the alert of the Argentine Society of Infectology , told Infobae .
