Undercooked bear meat blamed for family’s infection with rare roundworm parasite: CDC

At least six family members, including a 12-year-old child, gathered for a meal of black bear meat at a family reunion in South Dakota, were infected with a rare parasite, roundworm, known as trichinellosisthe U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement Thursday.

Eight family members ate a meal together in South Dakota in 2022 that included meat one of them had harvested in Saskatchewan, Canada, and frozen for 45 days after a hunting outfitter recommended it as a way to get rid of parasites.

“People who consume wild game meat should be aware that proper cooking is the only reliable way to kill Trichinella parasites, and that infected meat can contaminate other foods,” the CDC said in the release.

The meat was then grilled and served with vegetables in the form of skewers. Two of the infected family members had only eaten vegetables.

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Because the meat was darker, it was inadvertently served rare, which some family members mentioned, and then recooked.

In July 2022, six days after the meal, one of the family members, a 29-year-old man who returned to Minnesota, began experiencing symptoms, including fever, severe muscle pain, periorbital edema (swelling around the eyes) and eosinophilia.

After the 29-year-old was hospitalized for the second time in 17 days, health care providers discovered he had eaten bear meat, he was diagnosed with the parasite and the Department of Health Minnesota Health has been notified.

The man was prescribed empirical albendazole as treatment.

“Albendazole is used to treat infections caused by worms,” according to the Mayo Clinic. “This prevents the worm from absorbing the sugar (glucose), so it loses energy and dies.”

Eight family members, who live in Minnesota, South Dakota and Arizona, were interviewed by public health officials and six of them were found to have the parasite.

A ninth person, a minor whose exposure to meat could not be confirmed, appears to be in good health, the CDC said.

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Two other infected family members were hospitalized and prescribed albendazole, and all six family members recovered.

Once infected meat is ingested and “after exposure to stomach acid and pepsin, the larvae are released from the cysts and invade the lining of the small intestine where they develop into adult worms,” ​​the CDC said. of the parasite. “Females are 2.2 mm long; males 1.2 mm. Lifespan in the small intestine is approximately four weeks. After a week, females release larvae which migrate to the striated muscles where they encyst.”

The larvae can travel through the body to muscle tissue and even the brain, CBS reported.

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The CDC advised: “Cooking meat to an internal temperature of ≥165°F (≥74°C) is necessary to kill Trichinella spp. parasites. Meat infected with Trichinella can contaminate other foods, and the Raw meat should be stored and prepared separately from other foods to avoid cross-contamination.