Trichinosis is a troublesome disease which transmitted by inadequately cooked meat. It is a serious public health problem in areas where large quantities of meat are consumed. This particular parasites infects many different animals, but the chief source of human infection is pork.

Pigs that are fed on uncooked garbage readily become infected. Ten percent of the sausage meat sold in large city markets is said to be infected with trichonosis. In some areas one person in every six of the human population has trichinosis, most often acquired by eating improperly cooked meat products, perhaps at wayside eating places.

Soon after the infected meat is eaten, the human intestine is envaded by the adult parasites. Eggs are produced in great larva from enter the blood stream and are soon widely disrupted all over the body. They pass through the walls of the capillaries, penetrate between muscles, such as the diaphragm, gluteus, pectoral deltoid and the muscle of the leg and chest.

If the meat is heavily infected, the patient may feel local iretation of the digestive organs, followed by nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea similar to food poisoning. After another week, the larger muscle become painful and stiff, and the patient may complain of some weakness, fever, backache, pains on chewing and swallowing, and some difficulty of breathing or even moving his eyes or limbs – a clinical picture not unlike the early stages of influenza. There is often puffiness around the eyes, as well as headache and disturbances of vision.

How Trichinosis Treated?

As is desirable with most diseases, early treatment is better and decreases the risk of developing disease. If larvae do encyst in skeletal muscle cells, they can remain infectious for months to years.

Primary treatment - Early administration of anthelmintics, such as mebendazole or albendazole, decreases the likelihood of larval encystation, particularly if given within three days of infection [9] Unfortunately, most cases are diagnosed after this time.
Mebendazole (200–400 mg three times a day for three days) or albendazole (400 mg twice a day for 8–14 days) are given to treat trichinosis. These drugs prevent newly hatched larvae from developing, but should not be given to pregnant women or children under two years of age.

Secondary treatment - After infection, steroids, such as prednisone and pyrantel, may be used to relieve muscle pain associated with larval migration.