info:eu-repo/semantics/conferenceProceedings Book of Abstracts-Public Health-ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES Institute of Public Health of Serbia "Dr Milan Jovanović Batut" https://phaidrabg.bg.ac.rs/o:35230 doi:10.5937/BatutPHCO24127M cobiss:153835785 ISBN: 978-86-7358-139-2 Decade of Progress: Declining Trichinellosis Rates in Serbia and the Role of the National Reference Laboratory in Control and Research Mitić, Ivana Gruden-Movsesijan, Alisa Sofronić-Milosavljević, Ljiljana Plavša, Dragana Sabljić, Ljiljana Glamočlija, Sofija Vasilev, Saša 2024 Trichinella, trichinellosis, control, research, Serbia application/pdf 356667 bytes eng All rights reserved ABSTRACT Trichinellosis, a mandatory reportable disease, remains a persistent zoonosis in Serbia due to regulatory violations, inadequate pork inspection, and insufficient awareness of health risks. Nonetheless, epidemiological data from the past decade (2014-2023) show a significant downward trend in Trichinella infection among the population, with the number of cases in the last five years being three times lower than in the previous five years. Over this ten-year period (except 2021) there have been 489 trichinellosis cases. Among these, 26% of serum samples were analyzed by the NRLT-INEP, with 113 (90%) confirmed positive for anti-Trichinella antibodies. Serum samples were also sent to NRLT-INEP for confirmatory testing using Western blot (Wb) when routine enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) tests failed to provide an unequivocal result.