The most important parasites in Serbia involving the foodborne route of transmission

Abstract

Food can be an important route for transmission of parasites to humans. Compared to other foodborne pathogens in Serbia, foodborne (or potentially foodborne) parasites do not get the attention they undoubtedly deserve. The aim of this article is to give an overview of the most important parasitic pathogens that can be transmitted by food, and that cause disease in humans: Echinococcus, Trichinella, Taenia solium and Toxoplasma gondii. For each of these pathogens, the severity of human diseases they cause, incidence, mortality and case fatality rate among humans in Serbia as well as their prevalence in animal species in Serbia are described. Some of the described foodborne parasites can induce severe disease symptoms in humans associated with high case fatality rates, while others can cause massive outbreaks. All of the aforementioned parasites occur throughout Serbia and cause both severe public health problems and substantial economic losses in livestock production. In conclusion, the control measures of foodborne parasites certainly need to include education of farmers and improvement of veterinary sanitary measures in animal farming and animal waste control.