Nothing could be more natural -- and more American -- than hunting and preparing your game for a family meal. But a frightening incident in South Dakota serves as a warning that hunters must also be well informed about that preparation.
Six members of a family in South Dakota were struck with a life-threatening illness in 2022 after a family cookout where wild game was served, according to MLive.com.
Four members of the family ended up contracting roundworms, a dangerous parasite that can be found in meat. The worms can cause trichinellosis, also known as trichinosis.
The worms were ingested from bear meat which was mistakenly served undercooked, as the cooking process wasn't adequate to kill the worms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The meat, which was sourced from Canada, had been frozen for about 45 days, but the worms were a freeze-resistant strain which reactivated upon thawing. It was also cooked for a while, but put back on the grill when some noticed it didn’t seem thoroughly cooked. But by that point, the worms had already infected the diners.
Worse, six people were infected with the parasites and two didn't even eat the wild meat and only ate vegetables that had been cooked with the meat.
Doctors warn that roundworms can be spread easily by cross-contamination from infected meat to other items prepared at the same time.
"The meat was initially inadvertently served rare, reportedly because the meat was dark in color, and it was difficult for the family members to visually ascertain the level of doneness," the CDC said in the recently released report.
"Persons who consume meat from wild game animals should be aware that that adequate cooking is the only reliable way to kill Trichinella parasites and that infected meat can cross-contaminate other food," the CDC reported.
Health officials took some of the meat and later observed live Trichinella nativa larva in it, even though the meat had been frozen for 110 days at that point.
The recently reported 2022 outbreak was first identified in a man from Minnesota when he traveled back to his home and ended up in the hospital with serious symptoms after eating the wild game.
The first victim reportedly had fever, muscle aches, pain and swelling around his eyes, according to Live Science.
Soon enough, the other members of the dinner party, back at their respective homes in Arizona and South Dakota, were also diagnosed with the parasite. The infected, ages 12-62, all recovered.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the roundworm will initially embed itself in the intestines and then mate. The female worms then produce larva, which are distributed throughout the body in the bloodstream. The worm larva then hatch and bury themselves in muscle tissue. They can live there, buried in the muscle tissue, for years.
Symptoms include high fever and chills, muscle pain and tenderness, aching joints, swelling of the eyelids or face, weakness, headaches, sensitivity to light, recurring pink eye and itchy, irritated skin.
The CDC added that wild game should be cooked until the meat attains an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature that should be read with a meat thermometer because the meat color of wild game can sometimes be misleading.
Hunting is a fine tradition and no one should be afraid or squeamish to live off the land. But care should also be taken to learn what you are doing in the process. Consuming processed meats raised by professional farmers and ranchers is a very different thing than eating raw foods and wild game - and we all should be aware of the difference.
This article is meant to inform readers, but should not be taken as medical advice.
