Authorities urge proper cooking of wild game after 6 relatives fall ill from parasite in bear meat
Posted May 28, 2024
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reaffirmed the importance of properly cooking wild game after six people became sick from a parasite traced to undercooked bear meat that was served at a family reunion in South Dakota.
The six — one in South Dakota, four in Minnesota and one in Arizona — became infected when bear meat that was served rare turned out to be contaminated with roundworms that cause trichinellosis, also known as trichinosis. Two of the people ate only the vegetables that were grilled with the meat. While the meat had been frozen for 45 days, the trichinella worms were from a freeze-resistant species.
“Persons who consume meat from wild game animals should be aware that that adequate cooking is the only reliable way to kill Trichinella parasites and that infected meat can cross-contaminate other food,” the CDC said in its report on the outbreak last week.
The first case turned up after the 2022 reunion in a 29-year-old Minnesota man who had been hospitalized twice with fever, muscle aches and pain and swelling around his eyes, among other abnormalities. A sample of the meat, from a black bear harvested in Saskatchewan, tested positive. Three of the victims were hospitalized in all. All six, ranging in age from 12 to 62, eventually recovered.
Trichinellosis has become rare in the U.S. While it was once commonly associated with undercooked pork, most U.S. cases nowadays are attributed to consumption of wild game. From 2016 to 2022, seven outbreaks, including 35 probable and confirmed cases, were reported to the CDC. Bear meat was the suspected or confirmed source in most of those outbreaks.
The larvae can settle into intestinal, muscle, heart and brain tissues, according to the National Institutes of Health. Most patients fully recover within two to six months.
The CDC recommends cooking wild game to at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius), as verified with a meat thermometer. Meat color is not a good indicator. The family members ate some of the meat before realizing it was undercooked and recooking it, the report said. Raw and undercooked meat and their juices should be kept separate from other foods.
The Associated Press
Many wildlife experts tell bear hunters to consider all bear meat infected. Jen Christensen
CNN
Digital
Updated May 28, 2024
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.
The celebration happened in summer 2022, according to the account in the latest edition of the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. An extended family – unnamed in the report – came from across the country for a reunion in South Dakota.
One family member, a hunter, brought some black bear meat that he had harvested in northern Saskatchewan in May 2022. The hunter said that the hunting outfitter had recommended freezing the meat to kill any potential parasites.
The meat had been frozen for 45 days before it was thawed, and the family grilled it with some vegetables and served it as kebabs.
Freezing can kill some parasites commonly found in black bears, but according to the World Organisation for Animal Health, some species of parasites are freeze-tolerant.
Bears and other wildlife including wild boar, wolves and squirrels can often get sick with trichinellosis, a serious disease caused by parasitic roundworms of the genus Trichinella, but they will often appear perfectly healthy. When butchering the meat, it would be difficult to tell if it was contaminated because there are few signs of the parasite.
Many wildlife experts tell bear hunters to consider all bear meat infected, and the CDC recommends cooking the meat thoroughly to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit to kill the parasites. Smoking, salting, drying and microwaving do not always kill them, experts say.
The meat at the family reunion was initially served rare, but that was not the chef’s intention, the CDC said. Rather, it was “difficult for the family members to visually ascertain the level of doneness” because the meat was dark in color. After some of the family noticed that it was undercooked, they put it back on the grill before it was served again.Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News, right at your fingertips
It wasn’t until after people had gone home that some started to get sick.
The first illness was in a 29-year-old man who had to be hospitalized twice over a three-week period. He reported symptoms of severe muscle pain and a fever, and his eyes became swollen. Blood tests showed that he had eosinophilia, a condition involving too many eosinophils in the body, a signal to doctors that someone could have allergies, cancer or parasites.
It wasn’t until his second trip to the hospital that doctors learned the man had eaten bear meat and suspected that he may have trichinellosis. Tests soon confirmed that that was the case, and tests were recommended for the other family members.
Trichinellosis can be a light or severe infection, and the symptoms can depend on where the larvae migrate to in the body. Light infections may not have noticeable symptoms, according to the CDC. If the parasite moves into the gastrointestinal tract, it can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea or vomiting. In muscle, it can cause a fever, rashes, conjunctivitis and facial puffiness. Occasionally, there may be life-threatening symptoms including heart problems, trouble with the central nervous symptom and breathing issues.
Among the eight family members whom investigators interviewed, six had symptoms that were consistent with trichinellosis. Four had eaten bear meat and vegetables, but the other two had eaten only vegetables cooked with the meat. Three family members had to be hospitalized.
The hospitalized people got trichinellosis-directed treatment with albendazole, an antiparasitic drug. Those who were not hospitalized received only supportive care since their symptoms had resolved before it was determined they had the infection. Everyone has since recovered.
In the course of the investigation, CDC labs received samples of the frozen bear meat and found Trichinella larvae, and the hunter was advised to discard any remaining meat. The CDC also informed the Public Health Agency of Canada about the outbreak since the bear had comefrom that country.
The CDC says it’s important that game meat – particularly wild game harvested in northern latitudes – be cooked thoroughly.
Since meat that is contaminated with Trichinella can cross-contaminate other foods, raw meat should be stored and prepared separately from other foods. The CDC also recommends that government agencies and private groups that organize or oversee hunting should educate hunters about these risks and how to protect themselves.
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