Whats Cooking with Trichinosis?
April 30, 2007 Dear Mayo Clinic: Is there a test to determine if one has trichinosis? How do you get it, and what are the effects? What can be done to cure it? — Wheeling, Ill. Answer: Trichinosis is an infection caused by Trichinella — a type of parasitic roundworm found in uncooked or undercooked meat from pigs, horses, and certain wild animals such as boars and bears. In nature, carnivores get trichinosis when they feed on other infected animals. Domesticated pigs and horses acquire it when they eat garbage that contains infected meat scraps. Given increased regulation of animal feed and products, however, pigs and horses are now infrequent sources of trichinosis. The most common cause in the United States is now considered to be bear meat. Humans are affected when they eat meat containing viable Trichinella, which enter the body as larvae encased in cysts. The stomach’s digestive juices dissolve the cysts, and the larvae then penetrate the wall of the small intestine, where they
