An outbreak of trichinellosis with detection of Trichinella larvae in leftover wild boar meat

Abstract

The clinical diagnosis of trichinellosis can be difficult due to lack of pathognomonic signs or symptoms. In Korea, since the first report of human infection by Trichinella spiralis in 1997 following the consumption of raw badger meat, there have been occasional trichinellosis outbreaks. We describe an outbreak of 12 cases of trichinellosis in Korea and implicate raw wild boar meat as the culprit. A total of 27 larvae of Trichinella (0.54 larvae per gram of meat) were recovered from the leftover raw wild boar meat.

Keywords: Disease Outbreaks; Trichinellosis; Wild Boar.

Fig. 1

A Trichninella spiralis larva recovered from the muscle of leftover raw boar meat after artificial digestion. Scale bar = 100 µm.