Trichinella spiralis

Daniel Jackson
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
Historical Accounts
Late 1800s found in Egypt
Mummies
Alaskan Eskimos
History of T. spiralis
James Paget
1
st
yr student at the
London Medical
School
Feb. 2, 1835,
autopsy of 51 yr
old Italian
bricklayer
sandy diaphragm
History of T. spiralis cont
Richard Owen
Assistant curator to the
Royal College of
Surgeons
Heard about Pagets
findings
Drew pictures and
submitted them to the
Royal Society
History of Life Cycle
Rudolph Virchow
German pathologist
Between the mid 1850s to late 1870s 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
Cultural Practices and T. spiralis
Eating raw or
undercooked pork
In Thailand, 200-600
more cases are reported
around the Thai New
Year because of the
consumption of
communal pork
Delicacy in some parts
of Europe
Distribution
In Eastern Europe some swine herds have over 50% trichinosis
infection rates
Infrastructure
Ecosystem utilization
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
Treatments for T. spiralis
Animals
Ivermectin
Febendazole
Humans
Thiabendazole
No side effects
Food preservative
Preventing T. spiralis
Cook meat until juices run clear or internal
temperature is 144 Fahrenheit
Freeze pork less than 6 inches thick
20 days at 5 F
3 days at -4 F
Cook wild game thoroughly
Dont allow hogs to eat uncooked carcasses
Curing, drying, smoking or microwaving meat
doesnt kill worms



Anthropogenic Effects
Economic development
Education
Habitat transformation
Loss of habitat leads to a decrease in animal
hosts
References
http://www.trichinella.org/
http://www.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/Pa
raSites2005/Trichinella/
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/tric
hinosis/factsht_trichinosis.htm