Trichinosis of Marine Mammals in the Territory of Chukotka

• Published in: The FASEB Journal
• Main Authors: Mashkina, Darja, Bukina, Lidiya, Gaponova, Viktoriya
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2022
• Subjects: Arctic; Pacific; Larga; Lorino; Lakhtak; Chukchi; Chukchi Peninsula; Chukotka; Odobenus rosmarus; Phoca hispida; ringed seal; walrus*
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.s1.r3318

Chukotka is the only region of the Russian Federation where traditional fishing of marine mammals, including the gray whale Eschrichtius gibbosus, is conducted. More than 70% of the indigenous population of the coastal settlements of the Chukchi Peninsula eat the meat of marine mammals. Due to the huge distances between communities, lack of infrastructure, limited access to medical and veterinary care, isolated studies of marine mammal infestation with trichinella larvae are being conducted. For the first time, trichinella in the Pacific walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens in Chukotka were recorded in the coastal zone of the Bering and Chukchi Seas in the 1970s. In the future, trichinosis has not been studied in this region, which confirms the relevance of our work. Infection of marine mammals was studied by trichinelloscopy (compressor and biochemical). Bioassays were collected during fishing by sea St. John's wort in the village of Lorino. Infection rates were determined. Studies conducted on the Chukchi Peninsula confirmed the infection with trichinosis of the Pacific walrus and revealed the larvae of trichinella in lakhtak Erignathus b.nauticus and ringed seal Phoca hispida, and later in larga Phoca largha. The extent of invasion varied from 0.9% in larga to 4.3% in lakhtak. The gray whale is the most popular food item in the diet of the indigenous inhabitants of Chukotka. According to the results of the research, out of 119 individuals of gray whales, trichinella were not found. Given the trophic‐chorological connections of marine mammals, it is difficult to imagine a way of transmission of trichinella in marine ecosystems. However, previously obtained research results allow us to do this. On the Arctic coasts, especially near settlements, there are a large number of corpses of dogs, cats, rats, voles, carcasses of small seals that fall into marine ecosystems. Invertebrates, their adult and larval forms, as well as vertebrates ‐ fish and birds ‐ occupy an important place in the process of disposal of ...