Trichinellosis, also called trichinosis, is a disease that people can get by eating raw or undercooked meat from animals infected with the microscopic parasite Trichinella.
Image: Center: Trichinella larva in muscle tissue from an Alaskan bear. Image photographed at 200x magnification. L/R: Pigs, feral hogs, cougars and black bears can all harbor Trichinella infection. Successful trichinae control programs by the U.S. pork industry have nearly eliminated the disease in domestic swine raised in confinement, but hogs raised outdoors in close contact with rodents and other wildlife have an increased chance of acquiring Trichinella infection.
Credit: L to R: USDA, NASA/KSC, DPDx, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
- Page last reviewed: August 8, 2012
- Page last updated: August 8, 2012
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