Millions of Americans and other people eat pig meat -- I've never know
anyone with this infection or for that matter, I've never know anyone
with even tapeworm. I wonder how much is hysteria from problems in the
past. I found this on the web
too:http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/oct00/s100100b.asp and it stated
that:

"Although trichinae infections in domestic swine are rare — less than
0.013 percent according to the most recent comprehensive survey — the
stigma that pork is unsafe nevertheless persists. This perception has
caused some consumers to either overcook pork or avoid eating it."


"Pork program seeks to quiet public fear, increase foreign competitiveness

A major pilot program currently under way at participating pork farms
and packing plants in the Midwest would certify swine herds passing an
on-farm audit as being free of the zoonotic parasite Trichinella spiralis .

A cooperative effort involving government and industry, the Trichinae
Herd Certification Program uses a set of on-farm management criteria
enabling producers to reduce herd exposure to the Trichinella parasite,
allowing them to market swine considered safe for human consumption.

The program is intended as a model for future on-farm safety
initiatives, such as shrinking the number of toxoplasmosis infections in
swine.

Endorsed by a growing number of pork producers, the cost-effective
initiative is expected to bolster the struggling pork industry by
assuring consumers and US trade partners that domestic pork products are
not infected with the parasite.

Although trichinae infections in domestic swine are rare — less than
0.013 percent according to the most recent comprehensive survey — the
stigma that pork is unsafe nevertheless persists. This perception has
caused some consumers to either overcook pork or avoid eating it.

<snip>


"If it were possible to put parasites within an industry on an
endangered list, at the level [trichinae] is at now," Dr. Pyburn said,
"it would definitely be on the list." "


 > ====
 > Neurocysticercosis(NCC) is the most common parasitic infection of the
brain
 > affecting more than 50 million people all over the world. NCC is
caused by
 > infection of the larvae of the pig tapeworm Taenia solium(TS). Pigs
become
 > infected when they ingest contaminated human faeces. If  someone ingests
 > diseased (measly) pork meat containing larva forms of this tapeworm or
 > ingests its eggs when eating contaminated foods, the parasite finds
its way
 > to the small intestine where they become mature. From here the parasite
 > spreads to the brain to form of cystic lesions, also affecting the eyes,
 > muscles or spinal cord.
 > =====
 >
 > My thought is that the "unclean" tag --at least as far as the old
testament
 > is concerned --had some basis and benefit in the promotion of general
 > hygiene back then.
 >
 > John Holman
 > [log in to unmask]

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