Nicoletta Lanese is the health channel editor at Live Science and was previously a news editor and staff writer at the site. She holds a graduate certificate in science communication from UC Santa Cruz and degrees in neuroscience and dance from the University of Florida.
Six family members caught a rare parasitic worm infection after sharing a meal that included black bear meat, which was initially served rare after being stored frozen for more than a month.
Trichinellosis occurs when people inadvertently consume larvae of a roundworm in the Trichinella genus. The worm commonly infects bears, wild boars, wildcats, foxes, wolves, seals and walruses. People typically become infected after consuming raw or undercooked meat from infected animals. Historically, people in the U.S. sometimes contracted the infection from raw or undercooked commercial pork products, but modern regulations and cooking guidelines have lowered this risk.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Within a span of about half a month, the man had sought medical attention for his symptoms four times and was hospitalized twice. During the second hospitalization, he reported having consumed bear meat, and the medical team started him on medication for parasitic worms, just in case.
"The meat was initially inadvertently served rare, reportedly because the meat was dark in color, and it was difficult for the family members to visually ascertain the level of doneness," the report noted. Some family members noticed the meat was underdone while eating it, and it was then cooked a bit more before being served again.
Six of the eight people had developed symptoms consistent with trichinellosis. The presence of antibodies against the parasite were confirmed in two people, while the other four cases are considered"probable." Antibody testing can be tricky for this disease, because it's not super sensitive early in the course of a person's illness. All six sickened people recovered, three of whom did so after being treated in hospitals.
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