Family stricken with brain worms from eating bear

[Cindy Claveau]

Family stricken with rare brain worms after eating undercooked bear

In the summer of 2022, a family gathered in South Dakota for a reunion that included a special meal—kabobs made with the meat of a black bear that one of the family members had "harvested" from northern Saskatchewan, Canada, that May. Lacking a meat thermometer, the family assessed the doneness of the dark-colored meat by eye. At first, they accidentally served it rare, which a few family members noticed before a decision was made to recook it. The rest of the reunion was unremarkable, and the family members departed to their homes in Arizona, Minnesota, and South Dakota.

But just days later, family members began falling ill. One, a 29-year-old male in Minnesota, sought care for a mysterious illness marked by fever, severe muscle pains, swelling around his eyes (periorbital edema), high levels of infection-fighting white blood cells (eosinophilia, a common response to parasites), and other laboratory anomalies. The man sought care four times and was hospitalized twice in a 17-day span in July. It wasn't until his second hospitalization that doctors learned about the bear meat—and then it all made sense.

 

[Isabeau]

Not sure what they mean by harvested. Did they hunt it, or find it on the side of the road?

You’ve heard of Montezuma’s revenge? This is Fauna’s revenge.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

Not sure what they mean by harvested. Did they hunt it, or find it on the side of the road?

You’ve heard of Montezuma’s revenge? This is Fauna’s revenge.

Yeah, that was my question too.

It was Himalayan black bear. They found Himalayan in the road.