Trichinosis
Basics
Description
- Infection caused by ingestion of undercooked meat containing nematode (roundworm) larval cysts of the Trichinella genus
- Clinical disease in humans characterized by an intestinal phase followed by a muscular phase
- Extremely wide host range and geographic distribution
Epidemiology
- Historically, most U.S. infections are due to Trichinella spiralis in commercial pork.
- Currently, more U.S. infections are associated with wild game meat (especially bear) or through spillover to domestic animals.
- Trichinella parasites found in animals from all continents except Antartica
- Occasional grouped outbreaks (e.g., families and communities with common exposure)
- Reservoir hosts include rodents, domesticated animals (e.g., dogs, cats), raccoons, opossums, and skunks.
Incidence
- Estimated 10,000 cases per year worldwide, with a mortality rate of 0.2% in main 55 countries reporting
- Incidence worldwide highly variable due to variations in reporting and cultural and religious practices
- Between 2002 and 2007 in the United States, average of 11 cases annually
- Decreasing reported case numbers attributed to decline in prevalence of Trichinella in commercial swine (1.41% in 1900, 0.125% in 1966, and 0.013% in 1995), federal regulation preventing uncooked meat consumption by commercial swine, and increased public awareness regarding proper meat handling and preparation
- Likely underreported, particularly in developing countries with modest health controls
Prevalence
~4% of cadavers in 1970 study with evidence of previous infection (additional estimates range from 10% to 20% prevalence)
Risk Factors
- Consumption of inadequately cooked meat, even in small quantities
- Consumption of foreign meat (e.g., horse in France, dog in China) or wild game (e.g., bear, cougar, hyena, lion, panther, fox, horse, seal, walrus)
- Exposure to adulterated food (e.g., pork mixed in beef product)
- Traveling to underdeveloped countries
- Compromised immune status of host
General Prevention
- Consume only fully cooked meat, pork, and wild game; meat should reach >145°F internally, no pink color.
- Freezing kills T. spiralis in pork (<6 inches thick) at −20°F for 6 days, −10°F for 10 days, and −5°F for 20 days.
- Freezing may not kill other Trichinella species, particularly in wild game.
- Curing, smoking, salting, and drying meat (including jerky) are not reliable sterilization methods.
- Routinely clean meat processing equipment.
- Irradiation may not kill Trichinella but should prevent replication.
- Avoid feeding swine uncooked meat scraps.
- Actively control reservoir hosts (e.g., rodents).
Pathophysiology
- Trichinella are obligate intracellular parasites capable of infecting warm-blooded animals.
- Currently 11 Trichinella species identified: T. spiralis (most common), Trichinella nelsoni, Trichinella patagoniensis, Trichinella britovi, Trichinella murrelli, Trichinella T6, Trichinella T8, Trichinella T9, (encapsulated species), Trichinella pseudospiralis, Trichinella papuae, and Trichinella zimbabwensis (nonencapsulated)
- Life cycle of all species comprises two generations in the same host (broad range of >100 species—mammal, birds, and reptiles), but only humans become clinically affected.
- Disease not transmissible person to person
- Larvae in undercooked meat eaten by the patient are released after cyst wall digestion by gastric enzymes, pass to the small intestine, invade mucosa, and then develop into adult worms.
- Incubation period is 1 to 2 weeks.
- Fertilized females release larvae (~500) over 2 to 3 weeks; adult worms do not multiply in human host and are expelled in feces.
- Newborn larvae travel the bloodstream to seed skeletal muscles, where they grow 10-fold, coil, encyst, and cause muscle fibers to enlarge and become edematous. Nonskeletal muscle may have granulomatous reactions, but larvae are found only in skeletal muscle.
- Cysts (hyaline capsules) may calcify over several months to years.
- Growing body of research on the ability of parasites to modulate the immune system and implications of this for immune-mediated diseases
Etiology
T. spiralis is the most common organism that causes trichinosis and is acquired by the consumption of raw or undercooked, infected meat.
Commonly Associated Conditions
- Rheumatic syndromes: polyarteritis nodosa–like systemic necrotizing vasculitis, symmetric polyarteritis, glomerulonephritis
- Immunocompromised hosts are at risk for more serious or prolonged infection.
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Citation
Cabana, Michael D., editor. "Trichinosis." 5-Minute Pediatric Consult, 8th ed., Wolters Kluwer, 2019. Pediatrics Central, peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/5-Minute-Pediatric-Consult/617715/all/Trichinosis.
Trichinosis. In: Cabana MDM, ed. 5-Minute Pediatric Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2019. https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/5-Minute-Pediatric-Consult/617715/all/Trichinosis. Accessed December 12, 2024.
Trichinosis. (2019). In Cabana, M. D. (Ed.), 5-Minute Pediatric Consult (8th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/5-Minute-Pediatric-Consult/617715/all/Trichinosis
Trichinosis [Internet]. In: Cabana MDM, editors. 5-Minute Pediatric Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2019. [cited 2024 December 12]. Available from: https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/5-Minute-Pediatric-Consult/617715/all/Trichinosis.
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