Trichinellosis epidemics in AP Vojvodina [Serbia] in the period 2000-2009

In the observed decade, 1300 cases of trichinellosis were registered in Vojvodina, including three with a lethal outcome. The lethality was 0.23%. The incidences of trichinellosis ranged from 2.2/100,000 to 13.6/100,000. The rate of incidence depends both on the number of epidemics and the size of the epidemic reported in a year. Most incidences were reported in 2002 and 2005, as a consequence of the spread of trichinellosis through the purchase of infested food. The epidemic of trichinellosis in the Middle Banat district that started at the end of 2001 is considered to be the largest outbreak of human trichinellosis in Vojvodina, when 313 people got sick. In most of the cases the affected people reported they had eaten smoked sausages. The high incidence of trichinellosis in 2005 was a consequence of three thrichinellosis outbreaks that had been spreading through infested smoked sausages originating from illegal production and trade. More than 200 cases of trichinellosis were reported in Vojvodina. Today, Srem is still considered a hyperendemic area, because more than 30% of all the epidemics occur in this area. The available data indicate that trichinellosis is spread all over Vojvodina and that the absence of control results in the risk from the incidence of human trichinellosis. In many European countries the epidemiological situation is stable, but in our country trichinellosis is the most important zoonotic disease. This unstable epidemiological situation is the consequence of the widespread infection, culinary customs, and the fact that there is inadequate control of meat and meat products in households and illegal trade.