Outbreak of Human Trichinellosis in Northern California Caused by Trichinella murrelli

Abstract

Abstract. In October of 2008, an outbreak of trichinellosis occurred in northern California that sickened 30 of 38 attendees of an event at which meat from a black bear was served. Morphologic and molecular testing of muscle from the leftover portion of bear meat revealed that the bear was infected with Trichinella murrelli, a sylvatic species of Trichinella found in temperate North America. Clinical records revealed a high attack rate for this outbreak: 78% for persons consuming any bear meat and 100% for persons consuming raw or undercooked bear meat. To our knowledge, this report is the first published report of a human trichinellosis outbreak in the United States attributed to T. murrelli, and it is the second such outbreak reported worldwide.

Outbreak of Trichinella spiralis Infections Associated With a Wild Boar Hunted at a Game Farm in Iowa

“…In a 1990 Virginia outbreak, a meat handler who developed trichinellosis worked at a pork processing plant where implicated pork sausage was produced but denied consuming the pork sausage [20]. Cross-contamination of other food products from contaminated meat has also been suggested as a possible route of exposure [6]. In the current outbreak, the family also consumed 2 roasts that were frozen for 6 days following processing.…”

“…Confirmation to the species level was performed using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on amplification of regions of the internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2 and the expansion segment V region of the ribosomal RNA gene [8]. The larval concentration in several meat products was determined by counting the larvae found in 1-g samples of partially digested muscle [6]. Larvae infectivity was determined by orally inoculating larvae recovered from each tissue digestion into 5 Swiss-Webster mice.…”

“…Reported cases declined dramatically during the second half of the 20th century following a ban on feeding uncooked garbage to commercial swine and movement of the US swine herd to modern production systems that virtually eliminate swine exposure to rodents and other wildlife [1–3]. Most cases in recent years have been associated with wild animal meat consumption including bear and feral swine [1, 4–6]. …”

Pearls & Oy-sters: A rare case of neurotrichinosis with MRI

“…There was no evidence of ST elevation on ECG, and chest x-ray was normal. CSF analysis showed glucose of 57.6 mg/dL, protein 34 mg/dL, erythrocytes 9.5/mm 3 , leukocytes 3.6/mm 3 , and a negative Gram stain and culture. There were too few leukocytes in the CSF to provide a differential.…”

“…2 Patients with trichinosis may present with diarrhea, fever, periorbital edema, weakness, rash, and myalgias. 3 Bloodwork shows marked eosinophilia. Trichinella infection of the CNS, referred to as neurotrichinosis, occurs in as few as 0.2% but as many as 52% of cases and represents serious infection.…”