Taxonomy of Trichinella and the epidemiology of infection in the Southeast Asia and Australian regions

Seven species belonging to the Trichinella genus (five with encapsulated larvae and two with non-encapsulated larvae in host muscles) and three additional genotypes have been described to date: T. spiralis (genotype T1), a cosmopolitan species with a high infectivity to swine and rats; T. nativa (T2), etiological agent of sylvatic trichinellosis in arctic and subarctic areas of the Holarctic region, and its related genotype (Trichinella T6), detected in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, and Ontario; T. britovi (T3), etiological agent of sylvatic trichinellosis in temperate areas of Europe and Asia, and its related genotypes Trichinella T9 in Japan and Trichinella T8 in South Africa and Namibia; T. murrelli (T5), etiological agent of sylvatic trichinellosis in temperate areas of the USA; T. nelsoni (T7), etiological agent of sylvatic trichinellosis in Africa south of the Sahara; T. pseudospiralis (T4), a non-encapsulated cosmopolitan species infecting both mammals and birds; and T. papuae (T10), a recently discovered non-encapsulated species in sylvatic swine of Papua New Guinea. In the Southeast Asia and Australian regions, T. spiralis, T. pseudospiralis and T. papuae have been detected in sylvatic and domestic animals and in humans. A focus of human trichinellosis due to T. papuae was recently discovered in Papua New Guinea, with a prevalence of 28.9%. Trichinellosis has also been documented in domestic animals and/or humans in Cambodia, Indonesia (Bali and Sumatra), Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and New Zealand, and in wildlife of Tasmania.