Trichinosis

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Causes

By Mayo Clinic staff

People get trichinosis when they eat infected meat — such as pork, bear, walrus or horse — that is undercooked. In nature, carnivores are infected when they feed on other infected animals. Pigs and horses can become infected with trichinosis when they feed on garbage containing infected meat scraps. Other cases have been linked to eating beef that was mixed with infected pork or ground in a grinder previously used for contaminated pork. Due to increased regulation of pork feed and products, pigs are now a less common source of infection. In recent years, bear meat has become the most common cause of trichinosis in the United States.

DS00689

Feb. 21, 2008

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