The Trichinella Roundworm: Diarrhea So Bad It's Scarier Than Being Attacked By A Bear
By: Peter EganA new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia dubunked a long-standing and common myth regarding roundworm infections and their respective sources.
Most people have never even heard of a parasite (a roundword, to be specific) called Trichinella. The Trichinella worm, once it makes its way inside the digestive tract of humans, attaches itself to the intestinal walls resulting in a parasitic infection known as Trichinosis.
Trichinella is most commonly spread by way of undercooked bear meat. Luckily, bear meat is not commonly eaten, but enough people eat it for it to be the leading cause of Trichinosis.
What would possess someone to go out of their way to eat undercooked bear meat is beyond me. In fact, until I first got word of the CDC report, I had never even heard of people consuming meat from bears.
The most common side effects of the Trichinella worm and subsequent Trichinosis infections are intense pain and cramping in the abdominal region, as well as severe, intense and often explosive diarrhea.
One final note on Trichinella, here is what the Wikipedia page had to say on the matter:
"Trichinella is the genus of parasitic roundworms of the phylum Nematoda that cause trichinosis. Members of this genus are often called trichinella or trichina worms. A characteristic of nematoda are one-way digestive tract, and a pseudoceolom (body cavity made up of only an ectoderm and endoderm)."
For more health articles please visit Peter's mother''s website. Dr. Pamela Egan, Peter's mother, has a wealth of health and wellness articles available for free on her website, PamelaEgan.com.
Peter is knowledgeable about health due to his entire family working in the healthcare industry. His mother and sister are doctors. His brother manages EGAN Caregivers and his father owns and is President and CEO of the premiere home care agency in southeast Louisiana.
