6 Family Members Get Sick After Eating Undercooked Black Bear Meat, Suffer From Trichinellosis From Parasitic Brain Worm

A family reunion ended up with six members getting brain worm infection after eating undercooked bear meat, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A Disastrous Family Reunion

In the summer of 2022, family members from Arizona, Minnesota, and South Dakota gathered for a reunion that lasted for several days. One relative brought bear meat harvested from northern Saskatchewan, Canada, which was frozen for more than a month "to kill parasites."

The meat of the black bear was turned into kebab, and the family assessed its doneness by eye since they did not have a meat thermometer. The meal was initially served rare, until a few family members noticed before they decided to recook it.

After several days, some of the family members started to get ill. Six of them began experiencing symptoms such as fevers and vomiting.

A 29-year-old relative sought medical care four times for having severe muscle aches and swelling of the eyes. He was also found to have a high number of immune cells known as eosinophilia which indicates a sign of infection. The man was hospitalized twice within only 17 days.

On his second stay in the hospital, he informed the doctors about the bear meat he had eaten. Experts later confirmed that he was carrying antibodies against trichinellosis. He was then treated with albendazole, a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for parasitic worm infections.

Similar cases were found in two men, aged 57 and 62, and two women, aged 29 and 54. The women had only consumed the vegetables in the kebab, although they were served with the bear meat.

All the infected family members recovered. The remaining meat underwent laboratory tests which revealed that it contained parasitic worm larvae.

What Is Trichinellosis?

Trichinellosis refers to a parasitic infection caused by consuming raw or undercooked meat, usually pork. Also called trichonisus, this disease is brought by microscopic parasite worms known as trichinella. These roundworms typically infect wild boars, foxes, seals, bears, wildcats, wolves, and walruses.

Mild cases of trichinellosis can get better on their own, or can be managed with anti-parasitic drugs. However, serious cases of infection can be fatal if not treated properly. According to the CDC, the only reliable way to kill trichinella parasites is to cook the meat adequately.

Bear meat has become a less-than-common meat to eat for most people. On TikTok, a number of risky eaters have shown themselves preparing bear meat, although they are warned of the risk of failing to cook it properly.

The worm infection is rarely reported in the US, according to a statement from the CDC. From 2016 and 2022, the agency recorded only 35 probable and confirmed cases. Majority of these outbreaks point to bear meat as the suspected confirmed source of infection.

Historically, people in the U.S. sometimes contracted the parasitic infection from undercooked or raw commercial pork products. Over time, modern regulations and cooking guidelines have lowered the risk of infection.