Family infected with parasitic worms in US after eating bear meat, CDC says | Animals

Six people who shared a meal of black bear meat skewers have been diagnosed with trichinellosis, a zoonotic parasitic disease.

In a new report released this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that in July 2022, a 29-year-old hospitalized patient with suspected trichinellosis was reported to the Minnesota Department of Health. Its symptoms included fever, severe muscle pain, periorbital edema or swelling of the eyes, and eosinophilia or a high level of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell.

According to the report, a week before symptoms appeared, the patient and eight others shared a meal that included black bear meat frozen for 45 days before being grilled and served rare with vegetables cooked with the meat. .

An investigation into the incident revealed six cases of trichinellosis, two of which were in people who ate only vegetables. Trichinellosis is a parasitic infection caused by the larvae of trichinella, a type of roundworm. Generally, meat contaminated with Trichinella larvae comes from carnivorous animals such as bear, wild boar or walrus.

Molecular testing revealed that the larvae in the bear meat had been frozen in a home freezer for more than 15 weeks and were Trichinella nativa, a freeze-resistant species. The CDC warns that proper cooking is the only reliable way to kill trichinella parasites and that infected meat can contaminate other foods.

The CDC reports that six days before the initial patient’s symptoms appeared, he and eight extended family members from Arizona, Minnesota and South Dakota gathered in South Dakota for several days. During their gathering, they ate the meat of a black bear that had been harvested by one of the family members in northern Saskatchewan, Canada, in May 2022.

According to the report, the meat was “initially inadvertently served rare, apparently because it was dark in color and it was difficult for family members to visually determine the level of doneness.”

He adds: “After some family members started eating the meat and noticed that it was undercooked, the meat was recooked before being served again. »

Three of the six symptomatic people, two of whom were treated at least twice before being offered treatment, were hospitalized. All three patients received trichinellosis treatment with albendazole, a drug intended to treat various parasitic worm infections.

All six symptomatic people have recovered, with the CDC reporting that nonhospitalized patients did not receive treatment for trichinellosis because their symptoms had resolved with supportive care alone.

In the United States, trichinellosis is rarely reported. Most reported cases involve consumption of wild game meat.

From January 2016 to December 2022, seven trichinellosis outbreaks were reported to the CDC in the United States, including 35 probable and confirmed cases. Bear meat was the suspected or confirmed source of infection for the majority of these outbreaks, the CDC said.