Bear meat trichinosis with a concomitant serologic response to Toxoplasma gondii.

A severe case of trichinosis occurred following the ingestion of raw meat from a common black bear, Ursus americanus, that was shot in Butte County, California. Examination of steaks cut from the bear revealed heavy infection with T. spiralis. A good clinical response was obtained following treatment with prednisone (1 mg/kg body weight per day) and thiabendazole (50 mg/kg body weight per day); no toxic effects were observed. In comparison with the pre-treatment biopsy, a more intense inflammatory response was seen following the administration of thiabendazole. Nevertheless, a muscle biopsy taken several months after discharge still showed well-encapsulated, morphologically intact larvae. In addition to the expected immunological responses to T spiralis, a marked rise in titer of antibodies to Toxoplasms gondii was observed by the fluorescent antibody and Sabin-Feldman dye test methods. Since toxoplasma infection of muscle is widespread in man, it is possible that an unrelated disease of muscle could result in stimulation of anti-toxoplasma antibodies similar to the findings in polymyositis and dermatomyositis. Alternatively, the possibility that a dual infection was acquired from the bear meat cannot be excluded.     

Arctic trichinosis: two Alaskan outbreaks from walrus meat

The arctic form of Trichinella spiralis that infects terrestrial and marine mammals is of importance in public health because persons living in arctic regions still depend on wild animals for economic subsistence. In 1975, an extended common-source epidemic of trichinosis attributed to consumption of walrus meat involved 29 persons in Barrow, Alaska. Of those persons eating this meat, 64% became ill, and the rate of infection of persons eating meat prepared with little or no cooking was four times as great as that of persons eating cooked meat. One year later a second outbreak occurred when a family ate partially cooked meat from an infected walrus. Clinical illness differed little from the disease acquired in temperature climates; however, only 70% had a positive bentonite flocculation titer, whereas 96% had eosinophilia. These epidemics of trichinosis are the first reported in Alaska to be associated with the consumption of walrus meat.     

四川省理塘县因生食野猪肉引起旋毛虫病1例

2005年9月，四川省甘孜藏族自治州理塘县发生1例因生食野猪肉所致的旋毛虫病。由于患者隐瞒生食野猪肉病史，造成患者本人从基层卫生院到县医院的几次就医，诊断不明，治疗无效，病情加剧。最终在四川省疾病预防控制中心的指导下，在甘孜州人民医院、甘孜州疾病预防控制中心确诊，患者经阿苯达唑等治疗痊愈出院。     

The brown bear as a translational model for sedentary lifestyle‐related diseases

Sedentary lifestyle accelerates biological ageing, is a major risk factor for developing metabolic syndrome and is associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, kidney failure, sarcopenia and osteoporosis. In contrast to the linear path to worsening health in humans with metabolic syndrome, brown bears have developed a circular metabolic plasticity enabling these animals to tolerate obesity and a ‘sedentary lifestyle’ during hibernation and exit the den metabolically healthy in spring. Bears are close to humans physiology wise, much closer than rodents, the preferred experimental animals in medical research, and may better serve as translational model to develop treatments for lifestyle‐related diseases. In this review, aspects of brown bear hibernation survival strategies are outlined and conceivable experimental strategies to learn from bears are described.     

Sporadic trichinosis

A retrospective analysis was carried out to disclose the clinical and laboratory characteristics of 13 cases with sporadic trichinosis, proved by muscle biopsy at the "Salvador Zubirán" National Nutrition Institute and studied between 1977 and 1986. The number of cases per year was one or two with an increase to five in 1986. None of this patients showed a direct correlation between the type of diet or a specific area of the city. The clinical symptoms and physical findings were similar to those described previously for trichinosis, regardless of the clinical setting. In 69.1 percent of the cases the diagnosis was suspected based on clinical and physical data, and 84.6 percent had blood eosinophilia. Muscle biopsy was taken due to predominant muscular symptoms (92.3%) and this method was the most useful test to establish a specific diagnosis; no correlation was found between the number of larvae or cyst and the clinical symptoms. Thiabendazole and/or prednisone was administered and resulted in apparent improvement of the myopathy and blood eosinophilia during the follow-up (x: 7 months). A discussion is presented in relation to the usefulness of the muscle biopsy when a lack of specific enzyme tests exists; we emphasize the clinical manifestations and laboratory findings to suspect this zoonosis when a multisystemic inflammatory disease with striking myopathy is detected.     

Polar and brown bear genomes reveal ancient admixture and demographic footprints of past climate change

Polar bears (PBs) are superbly adapted to the extreme Arctic environment and have become emblematic of the threat to biodiversity from global climate change. Their divergence from the lower-latitude brown bear provides a textbook example of rapid evolution of distinct phenotypes. However, limited mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence conflicts in the timing of PB origin as well as placement of the species within versus sister to the brown bear lineage. We gathered extensive genomic sequence data from contemporary polar, brown, and American black bear samples, in addition to a 130,000- to 110,000-y old PB, to examine this problem from a genome-wide perspective. Nuclear DNA markers reflect a species tree consistent with expectation, showing polar and brown bears to be sister species. However, for the enigmatic brown bears native to Alaska's Alexander Archipelago, we estimate that not only their mitochondrial genome, but also 5-10% of their nuclear genome, is most closely related to PBs, indicating ancient admixture between the two species. Explicit admixture analyses are consistent with ancient splits among PBs, brown bears and black bears that were later followed by occasional admixture. We also provide paleodemographic estimates that suggest bear evolution has tracked key climate events, and that PB in particular experienced a prolonged and dramatic decline in its effective population size during the last ca. 500,000 years. We demonstrate that brown bears and PBs have had sufficiently independent evolutionary histories over the last 4-5 million years to leave imprints in the PB nuclear genome that likely are associated with ecological adaptation to the Arctic environment.     

小儿旋毛虫病8例临床分析

我院2 0 0 0年3月～2 0 0 2年2月收治小儿旋毛虫病8例,现报告如下。1　临床资料1.1　一般情况　8例患儿,男3例,女5例,年龄4～12岁,平均8岁。所有患儿均为牧区散居儿童,病程最短1个月,最长2年,平均13个月。有明确食生肉史者4例,可疑食生肉史2例,无明确食生肉史1例。1.2　临床表现　以发热为主症就诊4例,以肌肉疼痛为主症就诊2例,以双下肢行走无力为主症就诊治1例,以心悸乏力为主症就诊1例。病儿中有腹泻、恶心、呕吐史者5例。8例患儿均有明显发热史,5例体温超过3 9.0℃。以弛张热为主,亦有不规则热,持续时间最长7周,最短1周。发热伴有明显肌…     

An outbreak of trichinellosis due to consumption of bear meat infected with Trichinella nativa,in 2 northern Saskatchewan communities

In June 2000, bear meat infected with Trichinella nativa was consumed by 78 individuals in 2 northern Saskatchewan communities. Interviews and blood collections were performed on exposed individuals at the onset of the outbreak and 7 weeks later. All exposed individuals were treated with mebendazole or albendazole, and symptomatic patients received prednisone. Confirmed cases were more likely to have consumed dried meat, rather than boiled meat (P<.001). Seventy-four percent of patients completed the recommended therapy, and 87% of patients who were followed up in August 2000 reported complete resolution of symptoms. This outbreak of trichinellosis was caused by consumption of inadequately cooked bear meat contaminated with T. nativa. Apart from clinical symptomatology, blood counts, creatine kinase levels, serology test results, and analysis of the remaining bear meat helped establish the diagnosis. Treatment with antiparasitic drugs and prednisone was beneficial in limiting the severity and duration of the illness.     

Electrocardiographic changes in trichinosis

A case of trichinosis with clinical and electrocardiographic evidence of myocardial involvement is reported. The T-waves in the electrocardiogram were inverted in the second lead and upright in the fourth lead. These changes gradually disappeared.     

The course of trichinosis in patients with superinvasion opisthorchiasis

An analysis of the clinical course of trichinosis in the presence of superinvasion opisthorchiasis is indicative of the prognostic value of the time course of changes in eosinophilia in patients: its gradual amelioration during a complex treatment suggests that there is a positive tendency for recovery from the disease; a drastic fall in the level of eosinophils is constantly accompanied by a more severe course of parasitic cenosis with inflammatory complication and a possible fatal outcome. In trichinosis concurrent with superinvasion opisthorchiasis, myocarditis constantly develops at weeks 3-4 of the onset of nematodosis. Prior myocardial changes (focal and diffuse cardiosclerosis) should be considered to be a complication due to superinvasion opisthorchiasis. Trichinosis accompanied by Opisthorchis invasion substantially deteriorates the course of the underlying disease, chronic alcoholic intoxication exalts the course of parasitic cenosis.