First finding of Trichinella pseudospiralis in the Neotropical region

- We identified Trichinella pseudospiralis from a domestic pig in Argentina.
- This is the first report of a non-encapsulated species from the Neotropical region.
- The isolate is closely related to the Palaearctic population of T. pseudospiralis.
- Probably, this species was introduced in South America during European colonisation.

Prior to this study, only encapsulated species of Trichinella had been found in South America, i.e., T. spiralis and T. patagoniensis. Here we report the molecular identification of a non-encapsulated isolate of Trichinella from a domestic pig in Argentina. The multiplex PCR technique and the analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences revealed that it belongs to T. pseudospiralis, which parasitises birds and mammals from Australian, Nearctic, and Palaearctic regions. Interestingly, the isolate is closely related to the Palaearctic population. This is the first report of a non-encapsulated species of Trichinella from the Neotropical region.