Last year, ten people, including a 10-year-old child, became ill after eating undercooked bear meat, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at a barbecue in North Carolina.
In November 2023, 10 unidentified people experienced flu-like symptoms and facial swelling after an investigation by the North Carolina Department of Public Health linked the patients to an earlier gathering where undercooked bear meat was served.
It was determined that the diseases were the result of a trichinosis epidemic.
BEAR MEAT FOR DINNER? FOLLOW THE FOLLOWING STEPS TO PREVENT PARASITE INFECTION, SAYS CDC
Trichinosis is a “rare parasitic disease” – with only about 15 confirmed cases each year – often associated with the consumption of game meat, according to the CDC.
“These parasites infect animals such as bears, cougars, walruses, foxes, wild boars and domestic pigs,” says the Mayo Clinic on its website.
Ten people became ill after eating bear meat (not pictured) at a barbecue in North Carolina. Bears carry the parasite that causes trichinosis. (iStock)
“The infection can be obtained by eating the immature form of the roundworm (larva) in raw or undercooked meat.”
The CDC noted in its report that of the 35 participants at the gathering, 22 said they had eaten undercooked bear meat, and 10 of them, the youngest of whom was 10 years old, showed symptoms of trichinosis.
Of the 10 patients, nine had facial swelling, six had muscle aches and four had a documented fever, the CDC said.
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“When people eat raw or undercooked meat containing Trichinella larvae, the larvae grow into adult worms in the small intestine,” the Mayo Clinic details.
“It takes a few weeks. Adult worms produce larvae that travel through the blood to various parts of the body. They then burrow into the muscle tissue.”
Parasitic larvae found in bear meat can develop into adult worms in the human small intestine. (iStock; Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, CDC)
Although the report did not specify what type of bear meat was served, black bears are common hosts of Trichinella larvae, according to the CDC.
Cooking game meat to a safe internal temperature – 165° Fahrenheit – will kill parasites and prevent infection, the CDC says.
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Earlier this year, six people became ill after eating undercooked bear meat served at a family gathering in South Dakota, Fox News Digital previously reported.
The CDC says black bears are common hosts of Trichinella larvae. (iStock)
According to the CDC, a 2022 trichinosis outbreak linked to undercooked bear meat harvested in Canada resulted in six cases, including two people who ate only vegetables and became infected through cross-contamination.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the North Carolina Department of Public Health and the CDC for additional comment.
