Primary prevention

The most important primary prevention strategy is avoiding consumption of raw or under-cooked meat from pigs, horses, wild game, or carnivores. Therefore, educating the public regarding the risk of eating such meat and how to improve food hygiene is vital.

Consumer education

The International Commission on Trichinellosis (ICT) recognises three methods to render potentially contaminated meat suitable for human consumption:[35]

  • Cooking meat to an internal temperature of 63°C (144°F) (until the juices run clear) in order to inactivate the larvae

  • Freezing meat to -15°C (5°F) or less for 3-4 weeks may eliminate Trichinella spiralis(but other species may be resistant to this treatment)

  • Irradiation with 0.3 kGy, recommended for sealed packaged food.

Cooking using curing (salting), microwaving, drying, or smoking is not considered secure.[9]​[36] ​

Post-harvest inspection and testing

Slaughtered or hunted carcasses should be routinely monitored for active disease. Artificial digestion is the preferred method.[35]

Among wild game hunters, collection of tissue samples and rapid pooled digestion assay by a central laboratory, before the meat is consumed, may significantly decrease the risk of Trichinella outbreaks. The effectiveness of such measures has been shown by the Nunavik Trichinellosis Prevention Programme among Inuit walrus hunters living in the Arctic region of Quebec. In this case, major outbreaks ceased after hunters submitted tongue samples from each harvested walrus for analysis prior to consumption.[37]

No vaccine is available to prevent trichinellosis.

Environmental measures

The ICT has established a number of regulations to prevent infection in pigs, including:[35]

  • Architectural and environmental barriers to prevent the entry of rodents and wildlife into farms

  • Effective rodent control and good general farm hygiene

  • Prevention of the use of contaminated meat as feed for the animals

  • Accepting new animals only from farms with Trichinella negligible status, and identifying animals to enable tracing.

Secondary prevention

In some countries, a confirmed case of trichinellosis must be reported to the local public health authorities. In the US, trichinellosis is a notifiable disease.[39]  Once the disease is notified, the local health department will organise contact tracing to identify and inform other people who may have been exposed to the same meat source.

Post-exposure prophylaxis

One small observational study among 37 patients exposed to trichinellosis suggested that the use of albendazole or mebendazole, taken within 6 days of exposure, may prevent the disease.[83] Theoretically, mebendazole may be the best option for post-exposure prophylaxis as it is not absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract, thus reaching high concentrations in the lumen and killing parasites before new larvae are produced and migrate to other parts of the body.[83]

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