Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffRisk 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
- Parasitic roundworm diseases: Trichinosis. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/roundwor.htm. Accessed Dec. 17, 2009.
- Trichinellosis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/trichinosis/factsht_trichinosis.htm. Accessed Dec. 17, 2009.
- Weller PF, et al. Trichinellosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 17, 2009.

Find Mayo Clinic on