Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link

Volume 32, Number 7—July 2026

CME ACTIVITY - Synopsis

Trichinellosis Outbreak Linked to Undercooked Bear Jerky, North Carolina, USA, 2024

Camden D. Gowler, Nicole Lee, Meghan Phillips, Sarah G.H. Sapp, Tammra Morrison, Melanie D’Angelo, Margaret Neja, Billy A. Watson, Susan P. Montgomery, Anne Straily, Carl Williams, and Erica Wilson
Author affiliation: North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA (C.D. Gowler, N. Lee, T. Morrison, M. D’Angelo, C. Williams, E. Wilson); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (C.D. Gowler, S.G.H. Sapp, M. Neja, B.A. Watson, S.P. Montgomery, A. Straily); Graham County Department of Public Health, Robbinsville, North Carolina, USA (M. Phillips)

Main Article

Table 3

Molecular and parasite load results for frozen bear meat quantified at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from investigation into trichinellosis outbreak in North Carolina, USA, 2024

Specimen ID Meat cut Molecular identification* Parasite load, larvae/g Motile larvae
A Tenderloin Trichinella spiralis 32.7 No
B Ham T. spiralis 47.9 No
C Ham T. spiralis 46.7 Yes
D Ham T. spiralis 18.6 Yes

*Tested by using a previously published real-time PCR designed to target encapsulated North American Trichinella species (5).

Main Article

References
  1. Bailey  TM, Schantz  PM. Trends in the incidence and transmission patterns of trichinosis in humans in the United States: comparisons of the periods 1975–1981 and 1982–1986. Rev Infect Dis. 1990;12:5–11. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. Sawitz  W. Prevalence of trichinosis in the United States. Public Health Rep. 1938;11:365–83. DOIGoogle Scholar
  3. Gowler  CD, Lee  N, Morrison  T, Mears  V, Williams  C, Fleischauer  A, et al. Notes from the field: suspected outbreak of trichinellosis associated with undercooked bear meat—North Carolina, November 2023. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2024;73:906–7. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. McLaughlin  J, Castrodale  L, Cooper  M. 13-ID-06, revised surveillance case definition for trichinellosis (Trichinosis) (Trichinella spp.) [cited 2026 May 25]. https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.cste.org/resource/resmgr/PS/13-ID-06Updated.pdf
  5. Almeida  MD, Bishop  H, Nascimento  FS, Mathison  B, Bradbury  RS, Silva  AD. Multiplex TaqMan qPCR assay for specific identification of encapsulated Trichinella species prevalent in North America. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2018;113:e180305. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. Malone  CJ, Oksanen  A, Mukaratirwa  S, Sharma  R, Jenkins  E. From wildlife to humans: the global distribution of Trichinella species and genotypes in wildlife and wildlife-associated human trichinellosis. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl. 2024;24:100934. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  7. Gottstein  B, Pozio  E, Nöckler  K. Epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and control of trichinellosis. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2009;22:127–45. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  8. Wilson  NO, Hall  RL, Montgomery  SP, Jones  JL. Trichinellosis surveillance—United States, 2008–2012. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2015;64:1–8.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. Cash-Goldwasser  S, Ortbahn  D, Narayan  M, Fitzgerald  C, Maldonado  K, Currie  J, et al. Outbreak of human trichinellosis—Arizona, Minnesota, and South Dakota, 2022. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2024;73:456–9. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  10. Olfenbuttel  C. North Carolina black bear annual report: updated with 2023 data (North Carolina Wildlife Research Commission) [cited 2026 May 25]. https://www.ncwildlife.gov/hunting/harvest-statistics#ByCounty-1163
  11. Smith  P, Eidson  M, Willsey  A, Wallace  B, Kacica  M, Johnson  G, et al.; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Trichinellosis associated with bear meat—New York and Tennessee, 2003. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2004;53:606–10.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  12. Walker  AT. Trichiniasis: report of an outbreak caused by eating trichinous bear meat in the form of jerky. J Am Med Assoc. 1932;98:2051–3. DOIGoogle Scholar
  13. Dworkin  MS, Gamble  HR, Zarlenga  DS, Tennican  PO. Outbreak of trichinellosis associated with eating cougar jerky. J Infect Dis. 1996;174:663–6. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  14. Hill  DE, Forbes  L, Gajadhar  AA, Gamble  HR. Viability and infectivity of Trichinella spiralis muscle larvae in frozen horse tissue. Vet Parasitol. 2007;146:102–6. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  15. Hall  RL, Lindsay  A, Hammond  C, Montgomery  SP, Wilkins  PP, da Silva  AJ, et al. Outbreak of human trichinellosis in Northern California caused by Trichinella murrelli. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2012;87:297–302. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar

Main Article

Page created: May 29, 2026
Page updated: June 24, 2026
Page reviewed: June 24, 2026
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external