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Risk factors

By Mayo Clinic staff

Risk factors for trichinosis include:

  • Improper food preparation. Trichinosis infects humans when they eat undercooked infected meat, such as pork, bear or walrus, or other meat contaminated by grinders or other equipment.
  • Rural areas. Trichinosis is more common in rural areas. In the United States, higher rates of infection are found in hog-raising regions.
  • Consumption of wild or noncommercial meats. Public health measures have greatly decreased the incidence of trichinosis in commercial meats, but noncommercial, farm-raised animals have higher rates of infection — particularly those with access to wild-animal carcasses. Wild animals, such as bears and walruses, are still a common source of infection.
References
  1. Parasitic roundworm diseases: Trichinosis. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/trichinosis/Pages/Default.aspx. Accessed Jan. 17, 2012.
  2. Trichinellosis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichinellosis/. Accessed Jan. 17, 2012.
  3. Weller PF, et al. Trichinellosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 17, 2012.
  4. Gottstein B, et al. Epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and control of trichinellosis. Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 2009;22:127.
  5. Meat preparation: Fresh pork from farm to table. U.S. Department of Agriculture. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/Pork_From_Farm_to_Table/index.asp. Accessed May 3, 2012.
DS00689 May 24, 2012

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