A sausage-associated outbreak of trichinosis in Illinois

Twenty-three of 50 members of an extended Dutch-German family and their close friends who ate raw homemade summer sausage became ill with trichinosis; 12 patients were hospitalized for an average of 10 days each. The sausage had been made in three different batches according to an old family recipe. One of the batches made from USDA-inspected pork was found to contain Trichinella spiralis larvae by two Illinois State laboratories. The other two batches were negative. Seventeen of the 23 patients submitted information on medical expenses incurred and wages lost because of the outbreak. These costs totaled almost $20,000. There is need for a nationwide program for controlling trichinosis in swine.