Family eats black bear kabobs at dinner, CDC says. Then, six infected with brain worms
Nothing brings families together like a nice meal — and a subsequent parasitic worm infection.
Six family members from multiple U.S. states became infected after sharing a meal of black bear meat and vegetables, according to a May 23 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A 29-year-old man arrived in a Minnesota hospital in July 2022 with a fever, severe muscle pain, swelling around his eyes and abnormalities in his blood panel, the CDC said.
The man had been in pain since the beginning of July, and had been to the hospital twice over the course of just over two weeks, according to the report.
On his second hospital visit, he told doctors that a week before his symptoms began, he and extended family members from Arizona and Minnesota met up with family in South Dakota, the report says.
During their time together, one of the family members brought out the meat from a black bear they had hunted in Saskatchewan, Canada earlier that year, the CDC said.
The hunter was told by an outfitter that they should freeze the meat to kill any parasites, so they had kept it in a household freezer for 45 days before bringing it to the family meal, according to the report.
The meat was made into kabobs, then grilled with vegetables and served.
“The meat was initially inadvertently served rare, reportedly because the meat was dark in color, and it was difficult for the family members to visually ascertain the level of doneness,” the CDC said. “After some of the family members began eating the meat and noticed that it was undercooked, the meat was recooked before being served again.”
Five family members ate the bear meat and vegetables, and three more only ate vegetables, according to the report.
Days later, the 29-year-old’s symptoms began — then five other family members followed suit.
Six of the family members — including four who ate the bear meat — “had symptoms consistent with trichinellosis, and met case criteria,” according to the CDC. Trichinella nativa is a parasitic worm typically found in wild game, health officials said. The remainder of the frozen bear meat was also tested, and the parasites were discovered.
“Although freezing kills Trichinella species commonly implicated in pork-associated outbreaks, freeze-resistant Trichinella species, including T. nativa … predominate in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions,” the CDC said. “(Living larvae) was observed in bear meat that had been frozen for nearly 4 months.”
Trichinella is a roundworm, Healthline reports, that is most commonly found in pigs, but can also live in large carnivorous animals like bears, foxes, wild boars and walruses that eat infected animals or meat scraps.
Cooking the meat of these animals to a safe temperature kills the worms, but eating raw or uncooked meat can result in an infection, according to the CDC.
The worms can remain in your intestines and cause diarrhea, cramping, fatigue and nausea, but they can also travel into muscle tissue, including the brain, Healthline reports.
This can cause symptoms like the 29-year-old experienced, including muscle pains, fever, facial swelling, sensitivity to light, eye infections, rashes, headaches and chills, according to Healthline.
All of the symptomatic family members were treated and recovered from the infection, according to the CDC.
Despite being a rare condition, infections of brain worms have made national headlines in recent months.
In March, a 52-year-old man in Florida was reported to have a tapeworm infection in his brain after a lifetime of consuming undercooked bacon. He sought treatment after experiencing excruciating migraines, McClatchy News reported.
At the beginning of May, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared that a dead worm had been discovered in his brain after he experienced memory loss and mental fogginess, the New York Times reported. The source of the infection was not disclosed.
“Cooking meat to an internal temperature of ≥165°F (≥74°C) is necessary to kill Trichinella spp. parasites. Trichinella-infected meat can cross-contaminate other foods, and raw meat should be kept and prepared separate from other foods to prevent cross-contamination,” the CDC says.
This story was originally published May 24, 2024 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Family eats black bear kabobs at dinner, CDC says. Then, six infected with brain worms."
