Report on an outbreak of trichinellosis in Central Italy

At the end of 1988 an outbreak of trichinellosis involving 48 persons occurred in a small town in Central Italy, near the Appennine mountains. The epidemic was caused by the ingestion of sausages recently made with wild boar meat. The people affected were mostly relatives and friends of hunters. Trichinella larvae were found in boar meat sausages and in cats fed with raw leftovers and proved to be Trichinella sp. 3 at biochemical typing. This species of parasite is the most frequently isolated species of Trichinella in Italy and other Southern European countries. Clinically the epidemic has shown a typical, uncomplicated febrile course in most patients, but two patients showed signs of cardiac damage and one intense abdominal pain, suggesting an acute abdomen.