​Infectious Diseases and Microbiology - Trichinosis (Trichinella spiralis)

​Infectious Diseases and Microbiology - Trichinosis (Trichinella spiralis) 
Trichinosis is a disease caused by the roundworm Trichinella spiralis, which belongs to the Nematode family. Gastrointestinal and cellular infections.

The transmission occurs when individuals consume undercooked pork, bear, seal, or deer meat that contains encysted T. spiralis in the muscle tissue. Humans are an evolutionary dead-end as a host.
The clinical manifestation of Trichinella spiralis results in the development of trichinosis. The intestinal stage is marked by gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. The tissue stage typically manifests several weeks after the onset of gastrointestinal symptoms. It may present with many symptoms such as rash, fever, myalgia, conjunctival and subungual bleeding, splinter hemorrhages, periorbital edema, central nervous system problems, congestive heart failure, and respiratory arrest. The symptoms observed during the tissue stage of the infection are contingent upon the specific location and quantity of the larvae in migration.

The act of consuming insufficiently cooked muscle tissue that contains larvae enclosed in cysts leads to the digestion of the larvae. The larvae then travel to the small intestine and penetrate the epithelium, where they mature into adults. They subsequently return to the intestinal lumen and engage in reproduction. Adult females produce embryonated eggs within their uterus. The larvae generated infiltrate the intestinal wall and travel through the bloodstream to several organs. Subsequently, they form cysts within the skeletal muscle. The development of the disease is caused by an inflammatory response involving eosinophils, which is influenced by the quantity of migratory larvae and cysts.

 The diagnosis of eosinophilia involves the finding of larvae in striated muscle from biopsy specimens, as well as the use of serology.
 Albendazole or mebendazole have been employed to eradicate mature worms. There are currently no recognized techniques to eliminate encysted larvae. Corticosteroids have the ability to mitigate inflammation. Preventive measures involve minimizing the transfer of diseases to pigs by refraining from feeding them with waste materials and abstaining from consuming foods that are not thoroughly prepared.

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