Trichinosis

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Prevention

By Mayo Clinic staff

The best defense against trichinosis is proper food preparation. Follow these tips to avoid trichinosis:

  • Avoid undercooked pork, walrus, horse, bear or other wild-animal meat. Be sure the meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 F (71 C) throughout before eating it.
  • Have wild-animal meat frozen or irradiated. Trichinosis can occur in any meat-eating mammal. Irradiation will kill parasites in wild-animal meat, and deep-freezing for three weeks kills trichinella in some meats. However, trichinella in bear meat does not die by freezing, even over a long period. Neither irradiation nor freezing is necessary if you ensure that the meat is thoroughly cooked.
  • Other processing methods don't kill parasites. Other methods of meat processing or preserving, such as smoking and pickling, don't kill trichinella parasites in infected meat.

DS00689

Feb. 19, 2008

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