Trichinellosis

What it is

Trichinellosis is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by the consumption of raw or undercooked meat (pork and wild game) infected by nematodes of the genus Trichinella and that is characterized by an enteral (intestinal) phase, that can be asymptomatic or that can manifests with diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, and a parenteral (muscular) phase, manifesting with fever, periorbital edema, muscle swelling and pain, weakness, and in some cases, skin rash and peripheral edema. Rarely, potentially fatal cardiac (i.e. myocarditis), pulmonary (i.e. pneumonitis, respiratory failure), and nervous system (i.e. meningoencephalitis) complications may occur.

Key facts

Prevalence

<1 / 1 000 000 (annual incidence, Europe)

Age of onset

All ages

Inheritance

Not applicable

Classified as

Disease

Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.

Signs and symptoms

These ranges are how often a sign appears across everyone diagnosed, not a prediction for one person — most people have some of these and not others. Orphanet also records findings that are specifically absent in this disease; those are in the data but not listed here.

ICD-10 codes

Cross-references