Abstract

Introduction: Foodborne parasitic diseases are considered common in most parts of the world, which can cause significant health problems. Linguatula serrata is a zoonotic parasite causing human linguatulosis due to consumption of raw and semi-cooked animal offal infected with nymphs of this parasite. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to determine the effect of Electron beam irradiation on death of the Linguatula serrata nymphs isolated from animal products.

Methods: Linguatula serrata nymphs were irradiated with E-beam irradiation of 1, 2, 3 and 5 kGy doses )15 nymphs were classified into three groups of 5 for each dose). Death time of the nymphs was recorded by examining their movement under a stereomicroscope and then was compared with that of the control group stored at 4 °C. In order to analyze the study data, T-test and ANOVA were utilized setting the significance level at 0.05.

Results: The comparison between treatment and control groups demonstrated a statistically significant difference in death time of the nymphs (P 0.05). Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference between the doses of 1, 2 and 3 kGy with dose of 5 kGy (P 0.05) in regard with their lethality speed. The results showed that minimum destruction dose of Linguatula serrata nymphs was 1 kGy and 5 KGy , resulted in a more rapidly death within the nymphs.

Conclusion: Regarding the high sensitivity of Linguatula serrata nymphs to E-beam irradiation, this method can be used to enhance the safety of animal products in future.