After the discovery of two cases of the disease on wild boars, in January in the department, the Departmental Veterinary Laboratory wanted to reassure consumers.
“We are the only department that tests so much. From the start of her intervention, Mylène Lemaire, the director of the Departmental Veterinary Laboratory of Ariège (LVD 09), was pleased with the work of her teams in the fight once morest trichinellosis.
An area in which the department is a pioneer: since 2007, 37,860 wild boars have indeed been checked by the health authorities, which has led to the discovery of nine positive cases. A yield ten times higher than the national average since in Ariège, 60% of the animals hunted are subject to examinations before their consumption, once morest 6% in the whole of France.
An effort deemed “consequent but essential” by Christine Tequi, the president of the departmental council, and which allowed in January 2023 the discovery of two new cases, in Auzat and Ustou. For the latter, the place is more surprising, confides Jean-Luc Fernandez, president of the Ariège hunting federation, “we have never had anything in the Couserans. Usually, we find them more in the upper Ariège, on the border limit”. This location is explained by the proximity to Andorra, where trichinellosis is a recurring problem. This pushes the laboratory and hunters to prioritize analyzes in mountainous areas.
A partnership with hunters
Beyond a point on the situation concerning trichinellosis, Mylène Lemaire wanted to use this meeting to promote the joint action of her services with the hunters. “It’s important to put it forward,” she underlines, an idea shared by her hunting counterpart, Jean-Luc Fernandez.
In the field, this partnership has taken shape since 2007 with the sending of wild boar tongues following hunting sessions so that they can be analysed. The tests take place at the Departmental Veterinary Laboratory on Mondays and Thursdays, and if no news is given within three days, the meat is good for consumption.
A cooperation that has a cost for the federation: “In five years, 130,000 euros have been paid by hunters to ensure food security. We have to be responsible because we supply a lot of people”.
How to avoid contamination?
Trichinellosis is caused by a worm that attaches itself to the muscles. The disease is transmissible to humans, by ingesting wild boar meat or any other animal that may be a carrier. The first symptoms that appear in humans are divided into two phases: a first digestive, with nausea and diarrhea; and a second, more serious, where the larvae will attach themselves to the muscles and develop, which will cause pain, even cardiac or neurological disorders, for life.
To date, no treatment exists. The only way to avoid contamination is to cook meat thoroughly at 70°C to kill bacteria. Even if to date, thanks to the control of LVD 09, no case on man has been listed in Ariège.
