A South Dakota family reunion where grilled bear meat was served ended with several people being diagnosed as having rare parasitic worms that infect muscle tissue and organs, including the brain, federal health officials revealed last week.
According to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, in a report released on Thursday, six people were diagnosed with human trichinellosis in July 2022 after consuming meat that had been provided by one of the reunion guests who had gone hunting in Canada. The disease is caused by a freeze-resistant roundworm.
The meat was frozen for 45 days under the guidance of the hunting outfitter, who said freezing it would kill parasites. After that, it was turned into kebabs and cooked alongside vegetables on a grill; however, the CDC reported that because of the meat’s dark colour, it was inadvertently served raw.
“After some of the family members began eating the meat and noticed that it was undercooked, the meat was recooked before being served again,” the agency said.
A 29-year-old man who ate the meat later went to a hospital in Minnesota with a fever, severe muscle pain, swelling around his eyes and abnormalities in his blood tests. Over a span of 17 days, he visited a doctor four times for his symptoms and spent two nights in the hospital.
After learning that he had consumed wild bear meat during his second hospital stay, his medical team treated him for the parasite until an antibody test revealed that he was infected.
Three hospitalised patients with abdominal pain, aches and pains in their muscles, fever, diarrhoea, and swelling around their eyes were among the six individuals exhibiting symptoms. Two people who ate only the vegetables, which are believed to have been cross-contaminated by the meat, showed some signs of infection but did not have conclusive antibody testing, the CDC said.
