Dibothriocephalus nihonkaiensis: an emerging foodborne parasite in Brittany (France)?

• Published in: Parasites & vectors Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 267
• Main Authors: Autier, Brice, Belaz, Sorya, Degeilh, Brigitte, Gangneux, Jean-Pierre, Robert-Gangneux, Florence
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 28.05.2019; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Allochthonous deposits; Animals; Antiparasitic Agents - therapeutic use; Care and treatment; Cestoda; Cladistic analysis; Cohort Studies; Cohorts; Cyclooxygenase 1 - genetics; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Diagnosis; Diphyllobothriasis; Diphyllobothriasis - diagnosis; Diphyllobothriasis - drug therapy; Diphyllobothriosis; Diphyllobothrium - genetics; Diphyllobothrium - isolation & purification; DNA; Eggs; Endemic species; Epidemiology; Fatigue; Female; Fish (Food product); Fishes; Food; Food consumption; Food habits; Food preferences; Foodborne infections; Foods; France - epidemiology; Freshwater fishes; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genetic research; Globalization; Health risks; Humans; Identification; Infections; Intestine; Laboratories; Life Sciences; Male; Microbiology and Parasitology; Middle Aged; Mitochondrial DNA; Pain; Parasites; Parasitic diseases; Parasitology; Patients; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Raw Foods - parasitology; Risk factors; Salmon; Salmon - parasitology; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Seafood - parasitology; Signs and symptoms; Symptoms; Universities and colleges; Worms; Young Adult; France; Switzerland; Europe; Japan; Cestoda; Diphyllobothriosis; Epidemiology; Foodborne infections
• ISSN: 1756-3305; 1756-3305
• DOI: 10.1186/s13071-019-3516-6

Diphyllobothriosis is an intestinal cestodosis caused by tapeworms of the family Diphyllobothriidae. In France, endemic cases are limited to south-east and due to Dibothriocephalus latus. In this paper, we investigate a series of seven cases of diphyllobothriosis in the non-endemic French region of Brittany. All have been diagnosed between 2016 and 2018 at the University Hospital of Rennes. Parasites were identified by their morphological features and by phylogenetic analysis of the cox1 gene. Phylogenetic tree was built using maximum likelihood criterion under the GTR+G+I model and 2000 bootstrap replicates. A form was sent to all patients to collect data concerning clinical signs and possible sources of infection. All cases were due to Dibothriocephalus nihonkaiensis, a species strictly distributed in the North Pacific. Epidemiological investigation showed that the parasite was probably acquired in France, after consumption of Japanese food containing raw salmon. All patients presented with at least abdominal pain and fatigue except for one patient who had no symptoms. To our knowledge, this case series is the most important cohort of allochthonous diphyllobothriosis described in Europe. This sudden emergence raises concern about foodborne infections, highlighting (i) risky food habits in absence of adequate sanitary control; and (ii) the breaking of the rule of geographical restriction due to globalization and worldwide trades.