Trichinosis in southern Lebanon

An outbreak of trichinosis in two villages in southern Lebanon affected over 100 patients, aged 3 to 70 years, who celebrated Christmas and New Year's of 1981 by feasting on rare pork. Six were hospitalized in Israel. The diagnosis was made on clinical and histological grounds. The clinical picture included the classical features, but was unusual in that rarely reported pedal or pretibial edema, pruritus and vertigo, were prominent. There was one case with suspected myocarditis. Two women in the first trimester of pregnancy had miscarriages. All patients recovered. With the unstable political situation in Lebanon in recent years, veterinary and sanitary supervision has deteriorated, and most pigpens are infected with trichinosis.