Serbia: hundreds of cases of deadly disease spreading

Trichinosis: a deadly disease that is spreading from Vojvodina into Serbia. 11 new patients yesterday were interned after 50 patients have been placed under observation after 173 cases have been confirmed. An epidemic is expected. Trichinosis, or Trichinellosis, is causes by a parasite larva called Trichinella, which enters the human body through eating undercooked game or pork. This means that is can also be found in sausages, cured sausages or hams. This infection is potentially deadly. Symptoms are nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, tiredness, headache, chills, a cough, eye swelling, aching joints, muscle cramps and itchy skin and rashes. Constipation may follow the diarrhoea, making the diagnosis difficult to make and confusing it with > typhoid fever. In the more serious cases, there may be motor dysfunction, respiratory failure or heart attacks. The first symptoms are usually diarrhoea or gases after one or two days, followed by a longer incubation period of two to eight weeks. The symptoms are often confused with influenza. Trichinosis can be prevented by making sure that all meat is cooked at 120 C, by freezing all pork or game meat for 20 days in the freezer and by making sure that animals have not been infected by rats.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru