Engaging northern communities in the monitoring of country food safety and wildlife health

• Main Authors: Simard, Manon, Gajadhar, Alvin A., Jones, Andria, Rokicki, Antoni Jerzy, Elkin, Brett, Blais, Burton, Leighton, Frederick, Forbes, Lorry B., Nielsen, Ole
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Cryospheric Information Network 2016
• Subjects: Anisakidae; E. coli; Fishes; Mammals; Pathogen; Salmonella; Toxoplasma gondii; Traditional food; Trichinella; Zoonosis; International Polar Year-Engaging communities in the monitoring of zoonoses, country food safety and wildlife health; Arctic; Nunavut; Nunavik; Hudson; Nain; Arviat; caribou; Human health; International Polar Year; inuit; walrus*
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5443/11448; https://www.polardata.ca/pdcsearch/?doi_id=11448

This project has proven the benefits of having northern laboratories and by training several northerners for wildlife sampling and laboratory techniques. In collaboration with the scientists working at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Gdansk University, we achieved the following: 1) Development of two diagnostic tests, adapted for northern conditions, for the presumptive presence of E.coli 0157:H7 and Salmonella sp., 2) results were negative for all samples (n=129) and 2 community freezers, 3) all family members of the Anisakidae nematodes were present in traditionally eaten fish or in marine mammals from Nain, Labrador, Ungava and Hudson Bays up to Arviat, Nunavut, 4) presence of adult worms in marine mammals proves their transmission in the marine food web, 5) only freeze resistant T. nativa and Trichinella T6 were identified, 6) Trichinella infection was widespread among terrestrial carnivores, but amongst marine mammals, walrus and polar bears were the only ones infected, 7) black bears and walruses are the most common source of human infection in the north, 8) two diagnostic tests were developed for Toxoplasma gondii (multiplex PCR and multi-species enzyme immunoassay (ELISA)) that can be used to detect Toxoplasma DNA in meat, and antibodies in blood or tissue fluid, respectively, 9) an absorbent filter paper method to collect blood under Arctic conditions for the diagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii was assessed in collaboration with the caribou Network (CARMA) with good results. 10) a qualitative research study undertaken in Nain, Nunatsiavut demonstrated that residents would like research results co-presented to them by the Nunatsiavut Government and the researcher, in a hands-on fashion that emphasized visual methods and one-on-one interaction, 11) a data-entry website and interface was developed featuring the ability to add, modify, search, export and delete IPY specimen data. The data entered using this system is securely stored in the latest version of the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre database at the University of Saskatchewan. : Purpose: Traditional country foods are an integral part of Inuit life, providing nutritional, emotional, social and spiritual benefits. Despite these benefits, animal-based country foods may pose risk to human health. This project investigated zoonoses (diseases passed between animals and humans) in northern country foods. Due to the different food sources and methods of food preparation, food safety concerns differ throughout the Canadian Arctic. The involvement of northern communities in our research is essential to get on-the-ground information to understand wildlife and disease ecology, and potential public health risks from the consumption of food from wildlife. Our goals were five-fold: (1) Establish the prevalence and distribution of Trichinella sp, Toxoplasma gondii, Anisakidae worms, E.coli 0157:H7 and Salmonella sp in wildlife of food safety concern, (2) set-up laboratory facilities in Nunavik, NWT and Nunatsiavut, Labrador, (3) train local people for wildlife sampling and diagnosis of the five diseases of interest, (4) develop/refine/validate simplified (field) diagnostic tests for Toxoplasma, E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, and (5) develop a Canadian web-based database of Arctic wildlife diseases that can be accessed by all northerners. : Summary: As temperatures warm and habitats change, diseases and parasites will move northward creating threats to the safety of country food. Given this probability, it is increasingly important to monitor and quickly detect parasites in country food. This project has three goals: to document known international and national distribution and abundance of Trichinella and Toxoplasma pathogens and parasites found in Arctic wildlife; to provide regional infrastructure, equipment and training for wildlife sampling, coordinating and diagnosing diseases of related to food safety; and to develop simplified diagnostic tests for parasites of interest. This project is providing basic facilities, training of Northern personnel for future wildlife monitoring and disease diagnostics, as well as increased local knowledge on food safety.