TRICHINELLA INFECTION AND CLINICAL-DISEASE

Trichinellosis is caused by ingestion of insufficiently cooked meat co ntaminated with infective larvae of Trichinella species. The clinical course is highly variable, ranging from no apparent infection to sever e and even fatal disease. We report two illustrative cases of trichine llosis. Returning to Denmark a few days after having eaten roasted por k in the Republic of Serbia, a female patient suffered from severe vom iting, epigastric pain, diarrhoea, and later myalgia, arthralgia, gene ralized oedema, and prostration. A biopsy showed heavy infestation wit h Trichinella spiralis, 2000 larvae/g of muscle. Life-threatening card iopulmonary, renal and central nervous system complications developed. The patient recovered after several months. Her husband, who also ate the pork, did not have clinical symptoms, but an increased eosinophil count and a single larva in a muscle biopsy confirmed infection. The epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment and preven tion of trichinellosis are reviewed.