3 Main Pork Parasites, Their Harmful Effects, and How to Identify Them

Pork parasites are expected because, given the pig’s lifestyle and omnivorous diet (eating anything and everything), the swine is the animal whose meat contains the most parasites. This article presents the three most prevalent pork parasites that have significant repercussions for human health, but these are by no means unique.

Trichinella spiralis

This parasite belongs to the zoological order Nematodes (roundworms), primarily affecting swine, wild boar, and the horse. One gram of infested pork may contribute as many as 3000 trichinae larval cysts.

Consumption of infected pork products leads to an infestation of trichinosis worms, typically appearing about 17 days after consuming contaminated meat. The following is a characterization of trichinosis symptoms:

• Edema and swelling of the face or eyelids;
• Myalgia (muscle pain), fever, and headache;
• Blood analysis shows an increase in eosinophilic leukocytes.

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Trichina Parasites: How to Detect and Destroy Them

Pork infested with trichina larvae presents a normal appearance. An infestation can only be detected by a veterinarian’s microscopic examination of a meat sample. Curing the hams of swine or wild boar does not affect trichina larvae. Destroying trichina parasites in pork requires Cooking the meat until it is done to the point that it has lost its rosy color. The drawback to this, however, is the formation of carcinogenic substances. Freeze the meat for 20 days at -15ᵒC (5ᵒF)

The foods that most often transmit pork parasites are:

• Wild boar and the products made from it, particularly sausages.
• Pork that has not been properly cooked or roasted, above all when it has been home-slaughtered.
• Uncooked pork sausages.

Although one might think that trichinosis is a disease of the past, there are continuous outbreaks worldwide. In the United States, there are some 57 cases annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, even though it Is thought that many more cases go undiagnosed. In Spain, in the Statutory Community of Navarra alone, there were 71 reported cases.

Toxoplasma gondii

This pork parasite is a protozoan (microscopic unicellular animal) that promotes swelling of the lymph nodes, fever, and asthenia. When pregnant women are infected, it can produce miscarriage or fetal brain damage and blindness. You can contact toxoplasma in two ways:

1. Contact with infected animals, particularly cats;
2. Consumption of infected raw or undercooked pork. Raw pork, as it is eaten in some Asian countries, is a frequent cause of toxoplasmosis.

An investigation at the Federico II School of Medicine in Naples (Italy) concluded that consuming cured pork (ham, sausage) or any raw meat, even once a month, triples the risk of toxoplasmosis.

Tenia solium

Tenia solium, or pork tapeworm, is a flatworm that lives parasitically in the intestine from two to five meters in length. Its eggs pass to the blood and form cysts in the brain and other organs, causing cysticercosis disease. Contamination is caused by one of the following mechanisms:

• If pork is not adequately cooked, it may contain live larvae. Up to 25% of swine in rural areas of some developing countries are infested.
• Eating vegetables containing tenia eggs because of being irrigated with contaminated human sewage.

From Rat to Pig to Human

From ancient times it has been known that eating the meat of rats, swine, and even horses can produce a variety of disorders, which, in some cases, may prove fatal. Two thousand seven hundred years ago in ancient Israel, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “…those eat the flesh of pigs and rats and other abominable things—they will meet their end together.”   However, it was not until 1835 when the British anatomist and zoologist Sir Richard Owen discovered the parasite that causes trichinosis in humans in the flesh of swine. Today it is well known that the primary vector for the trichina parasite that affects swine and humans is the rat.

DISCLAIMER: All content on this website is presented solely for educational and informational objectives. You should not rely on the information provided as a replacement for advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified medical expert. If you are pregnant, nursing, or have any preexisting medical concerns, you should talk to your doctor before using any herbal or natural medicines.

REFERENCES

1. George D. Pamplona-Roger, M.D. “Encyclopedia of Foods and Their Healing Power.” George D. Pamplona-Roger, M.D. Encyclopedia of Foods and Their Healing Power. Trans. Annette Melgosa. Vol. 1. Chai Wan: Editorial Safeliz, 2005. 322, 323. Print. [pork parasites]
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
3. Trichinellosis: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichinellosis/index.html
4. Taeniasis: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/taeniasis/index.html
5. Toxoplasmosis: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/index.html
6. World Health Organization (WHO)

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