Trichinosis outbreak. Balcarce district, Buenos Aires. Epidemiological weeks 18 to 33 of 2019

Abstract

Introduction: Trichinosis is a parasitic disease caused by the genus Trichinella. It spreads between carnivorous and omnivorous animals, and also affects humans (zoonosis). Objectives: i) To describe the trichinosis outbreak occurred in the rural town of San Agustín, Balcarce district, Buenos Aires, Argentina, between epidemiological weeks 18 and 33 of 2019, using the variables: time, place and person; and ii) to propose an intervention tending to avoid future events of this nature. Materials and methods: The guidelines proposed by the Pan American Health Organization were followed through the “Modules of Principles of Epidemiology for Disease Control (MOPECE)”, 2011. The index case was diagnosed in a private office on May 3, 2019. The patient presented with intense bipalpebral edema, myalgia and fever, plus a history of having consumed dried sausages of defined origin. After that, the number of suspected cases increased and some went directly to the hospital, with the antecedent of having ingested dried sausages of the same origin and variable symptoms. In this report, the outbreak is characterized by the variables: time, place and person.