1. Trichinella spiralis
Daniel Jackson

2. Review of Trichinella spiralis
Contracted by eating raw or undercooked pork or wild game with larvae in muscle
Causes trichinosis
Hosts: pigs, bears, rats, walrus, wolves, scavenging animals, and humans

3. Historical Accounts
Late 1800’s found in Egypt
Mummies
Alaskan Eskimos

4. History of T. spiralis James Paget
1st yr student at the London Medical School
Feb. 2, 1835, autopsy of 51 yr old Italian bricklayer
“sandy diaphragm”

5. History of T. spiralis cont…
Richard Owen
Assistant curator to the Royal College of Surgeons
Heard about Paget’s findings
Drew pictures and submitted them to the Royal Society

6. History of Life Cycle Rudolph Virchow German pathologist
Between the mid 1850’s to late 1870’s discovered the life cycle of Trichinella spiralis
Witnessed another cadaver with white flecks and confirmed that it was Trichinella spiralis
Fed a large quantity of meat to his dog
Dissected the dead dog four days later and found adult worms in the digestive tract

7. Cultural Practices and T. spiralis
Eating raw or undercooked pork
In Thailand, more cases are reported around the Thai New Year because of the consumption of communal pork
Delicacy in some parts of Europe

8. Distribution
In Eastern Europe some swine herds have over 50% trichinosis infection rates

9. Infrastructure Ecosystem utilization International trade of meats
Source of food
Humans and animals
International trade of meats
Legislation prohibiting feeding of raw meats to animals
Increased commercial and home freezing of pork
Public awareness

10. Treatments for T. spiralis
Animals
Ivermectin
Febendazole
Humans
Thiabendazole
No side effects
Food preservative

11. Preventing T. spiralis
Cook meat until juices run clear or internal temperature is 144º Fahrenheit
Freeze pork less than 6 inches thick
20 days at 5º F
3 days at -4º F
Cook wild game thoroughly
Don’t allow hogs to eat uncooked carcasses
Curing, drying, smoking or microwaving meat doesn’t kill worms

12. Anthropogenic Effects
Economic development
Education
Habitat transformation
Loss of habitat leads to a decrease in animal hosts

13. References http://www.trichinella.org/