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It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family\u2019s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead. <\/p>\n

The celebration happened in summer 2022, according to the account in the latest edition of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. An extended family \u2013 unnamed in the report \u2013 came from across the country for a reunion in South Dakota. <\/p>\n

One family member, a hunter, brought some black bear meat that he had harvested in northern Saskatchewan in May 2022. The hunter said that the hunting outfitter had recommended freezing the meat to kill any potential parasites. <\/p>\n

The meat had been frozen for 45 days before it was thawed, and the family grilled it with some vegetables and served it as kebabs. <\/p>\n

Freezing can kill some parasites commonly found in black bears, but according to the World Organisation for Animal Health, some species of parasites are freeze-tolerant. <\/p>\n

Bears and other wildlife including wild boar, wolves and squirrels can often get sick with trichinellosis, a serious disease caused by parasitic roundworms of the genus Trichinella, but they will often appear perfectly healthy. When butchering the meat, it would be difficult to tell if it was contaminated because there are few signs of the parasite. <\/p>\n

Many wildlife experts tell bear hunters to consider all bear meat infected, and the CDC recommends cooking the meat thoroughly to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit to kill the parasites. Smoking, salting, drying and microwaving do not always kill them, experts say. <\/p>\n

The meat at the family reunion was initially served rare, but that was not the chef\u2019s intention, the CDC said. Rather, it was \u201cdifficult for the family members to visually ascertain the level of doneness\u201d because the meat was dark in color. After some of the family noticed that it was undercooked, they put it back on the grill before it was served again. <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until after people had gone home that some started to get sick. <\/p>\n

The first illness was in a 29-year-old man who had to be hospitalized twice over a\u00a0three-week period. He reported symptoms of severe muscle pain and a fever, and his eyes became swollen. Blood tests showed that he had eosinophilia, a condition involving too many eosinophils in the body, a signal to doctors that someone could have allergies, cancer or parasites. <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until his second trip to the hospital that doctors learned the man had eaten bear meat and suspected that he may have trichinellosis. Tests soon confirmed that that was the case, and tests were recommended for the other family members. <\/p>\n

Trichinellosis can be a light or severe infection, and the symptoms can depend on where the larvae migrate to in the body. Light infections may not have noticeable symptoms, according to the CDC. If the parasite moves into the gastrointestinal tract, it can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea or vomiting. In muscle, it can cause a fever, rashes, conjunctivitis and facial puffiness. Occasionally, there may be life-threatening symptoms including heart problems, trouble with the central nervous symptom and breathing issues. <\/p>\n

Among the eight family members whom investigators interviewed, six had symptoms that were consistent with trichinellosis. Four had eaten bear meat and vegetables, but the other two had eaten only vegetables cooked with the meat. Three family members had to be hospitalized. <\/p>\n