Chileans suffer from trichinosis after eating contaminated pork
Nine people at the Chilean island of Chiloé have been infected by trichinellosis after having eaten from an illegally slaughtered pork.
The Chilean website Cronicalibre.cl reports that the Public Health Institute (ISP) in Chiloé confirmed nine cases and six more are suspected.
Castro City
Dr Christian Araneda, head of health authorities in Chiloe, explained that eight persons in Caguach community, Castro City, had a confirmed trichinosis infection, after one person (illegally) killed a pig and sold the meat to some of his neighbours. He said that all of them are now in good condition. Three more cases are suspected.
Achao
The health care officer added that in Achao community there is one confirmed case of trichinosis, and there are three persons considered as suspicious cases, presumably because of having eaten pork from an illegal slaughterhouse.
After the outbreak was reported, Araneda explained that some measures had been taken. These consist in monitoring the clinical condition of affected persons and performing inspections to butcher shops during next weekend in the affected communities. Also, educational lectures using specially designed material will be delivered, aiming to prevent the occurrence of new cases of trichinosis.
In Quellón community, in the island’s south, in January 2011, an outbreak of trichinosis occurred due to eating pork from an illegal slaughterhouse.
Trichinosis is caused by the parasite Trichinella. The nematodes do not cause disease in pigs.
Chiloé island is located at almost 1,500 km south of the country’s capital Santiago de Chile.
Join 18,000+ subscribers
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated about all the need-to-know content in the pigsector, three times a week.
