The First Report of Trichinella britovi in Armenia

Background: More than a hundred species of mammals, birds, and reptiles are infected by nematodes of the Trichinella genus worldwide. Although, Trichinella spp. are widely distributed in neighboring countries including Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran, no study was conducted in Armenia since 1980’s. Methods: In 2017-2018, five muscle samples belonging to Armenian lynx, otter, wild boar, fox and wolf were tested for Trichinella spp. and recovered larvae were identified by multiplex PCR technique. Results: Twenty-six larvae/gram and one larva/gram were found in lynx and fox samples respectively. They were identified as T. britovi. Conclusion: So far only two species were identified in Armenia, T. spiralis and T. pseudospiralis, and this is the first time that T. britovi is reported in Armenia.