Trichinella Research Paper

The disease Trichinella spiralis is a part of the helminth family, it is a nematode (roundworm) that when ingested from infected meats may cause diarrhea, aches as well as fever. (http://www.medicinenet.com/trichinosis/article.htm) This parasite is found in various animals such as rats,bears,and horses which come into contact with the parasite through eating contaminated substances. However. the most common reservoir that allows it to spread to humans in the United States are pigs. Humans acquire the disease by consuming infected meat, sometimes meats are illegally imported and other times it is due to the animals on the farm not being monitored on their diet. Interestingly, the worms are able to survive in a frozen animal carcass for up to 5 years, thus meat inspection plays a key role in prevention as well as properly cooking the meats to prevent ingestion. Once ingested the incubation period can last 5 to 45 days (standford) symptoms such as aches, constipation, and itchy skin will start occurring.
This parasitic worm rarely causes death, but, many cases go untreated since those infected believe …show more content…
The parasite was first recorded in the United States in 1846 but it has also appeared in mummies from Ancient Egypt. (Standford). Over time this parasite has been able to spread across the United States as well as several other countries, giving it a global distribution. (Ncbi 2009) The disease is contracted by various animals depending on the country and its diet. For example, at one point it was common for the French to eat horse meat that sometimes was infected while in Transylvanian there are specific religions that consume raw meat. (Ncbi