What is the major concern with pigs infected with Trichinella solium?

What is the major concern with pigs infected with Trichinella solium?

• A. Rapid death
• B. Neurological signs
• C. Zoonotic risk
• D. No risk to humans

Answer: (C)

Pigs infected with Trichinella raise a clear public health concern because the parasite can be transmitted to humans who eat undercooked pork. The larvae encyst in pig muscle, and when people consume meat containing these cysts, the larvae are released and establish infection in the human host, causing trichinellosis. The animals themselves often show few or no signs, so the risk to humans becomes the decisive issue for food safety and surveillance. That’s why the zoonotic risk is the best answer: it directly addresses why infection in pigs matters in real-world terms. Rapid death or neurological signs are not typical concerns in pigs, and saying there’s no risk to humans contradicts the known transmission pathway of Trichinella.

Pigs infected with Trichinella raise a clear public health concern because the parasite can be transmitted to humans who eat undercooked pork. The larvae encyst in pig muscle, and when people consume meat containing these cysts, the larvae are released and establish infection in the human host, causing trichinellosis. The animals themselves often show few or no signs, so the risk to humans becomes the decisive issue for food safety and surveillance.

That’s why the zoonotic risk is the best answer: it directly addresses why infection in pigs matters in real-world terms. Rapid death or neurological signs are not typical concerns in pigs, and saying there’s no risk to humans contradicts the known transmission pathway of Trichinella.