Outbreak of suspected trichinosis among travelers returning from a neighboring island

Background: An outbreak of trichinosis involving a cohort of 33 returning t ravelers from a resort island in a neighboring country was suspected, begin ning with 2 initial cases who were hospitalized with a syndrome of fever, m yalgia and eosinophilia. Method: At the initial visit, a full history was obtained and a physical ex amination was performed for each individual. Also, blood was drawn for full blood count, blood film for malaria parasites and Trichinella serology. Ex tensive epidemiological investigations identified a total of 84 returning t ravelers from 6 separate groups, of which 58 (69%) were subjected to a deta iled interview, including the kinds of meat consumed on the island. Results:Twenty-five of these 33 persons (75.7%) fulfilled clinical or serol ogical case definition criteria for trichinosis. IgG antibody for Trichinel la spiralis was detected in 8 out of 32 persons who had the test done (25%) , Symptoms were generally mild, with only one patient (3%) requiring steroi ds for prolonged myositis. Conclusion:We suspect this outbreak to be due to trichinosis although the s ource could not be identified. Extensive epidemiological investigations ide ntified a total of 84 returning travelers from 6 separate groups, of which 58 (69%) were subjected to a detailed interview, including the kinds of mea t consumed on the island, but the source of the outbreak could not be ident ified.