| Description |
Trichinellosis in humans and animals is caused by eight different species of roundworm of the genus Trichinella. Infection occurs through eating raw or undercooked meat from Trichinella-infected domestic animals or game. Apart from humans, host species include pigs, rats, horses and other flesh-eating mammals, birds and reptiles.Animals become infected by feeding on Trichinella-infected muscle. Ingested larvae mature in the small intestine of the host. Following reproduction by adult worms in the intestine, larvae migrate and encyst in the muscle tissues of the host. Trichinellosis is rarely diagnosed as a disease in animals but is a serious disease in humans. |
