Six people who attended a family gathering where undercooked bear meat was served contracted “brain worms, ” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ).
The CDC explained in a statement from Thursday that a 29-year-old man in Minnesota had been hospitalized with symptoms including a fever, “severe myalgias, ” and “periorbital edema. ” Prior to seeking medical attention, the man had attended a family gathering with eight other family members where “rare ” bear meat had been served days before the “onset ” of his symptoms.
At the family gathering, kebabs made from bear meat that one of the family members had “harvested ” in northern Saskatchewan, Canada, were served, according to the CDC.
“The meat was initially inadvertently served unique, presumably because the flesh was dark in color, and it was hard for the family members to visually investigate the level of juiciness, ” the CDC said.
An investigation surrounding the patient’s symptoms was launched, resulting in his diagnosis being “confirmed by a positive Trichinella immunoglobulin ( Ig ) G antibody test result. ”
Black and white printing illustrating a cross-section of the medial lungs of a human head, with editable numbers indicating the locations of cardiac worm infections, 1825. Courtesy Internet Archive. ( Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images )
Trichinosis is described as being a “food-borne disease caused by a microscopic parasite called the Trichinella, ” also known as a brain worm, according to the New York State Department of Health.
“Six days before symptom onset in the index patient, he and eight extended family members from three states ( Arizona, Minnesota, and South Dakota ) had gathered for several days in South Dakota and shared a meal that included kabobs made from the meat of a black bear, ” the CDC wrote in the statement.
Health authorities in all three states interviewed the household members and found that five had eaten the keep flesh, and eight of them had eaten vegetables that had been cooked with the uncooked carry foods.
Out of the six community members who had eaten the food and gotten ill, four ate both the keep flesh and the greens, and two individuals only ate the greens.
Three out of the six family members who had fallen ill were hospitalized. All six family people who were tired ended up recovering.
“The family member who harvested the bear and provided meat samples for testing was advised to discard any remaining meat, ” the CDC added. “All identified trichinellosis cases were reported to ideal state health departments and to CDC. ”
