Trichinella spiralis

Trichinella spiralis is a viviparous nematode parasite, occurring in rodents, pigs, bears, hyenas and humans, and is responsible for the disease trichinosis. It is sometimes referred to as the "pork worm" due to it being typically encountered in undercooked pork products. It should not be confused with the distantly related pork tapeworm. Trichinella species, the smallest nematode parasite of humans, has an unusual life cycle, and are one of the most widespread and clinically important parasites in the world. The small adult worms mature in the small intestine of a definitive host, such as a pig. Each adult female produces batches of live larvae, which bore through the intestinal wall, enters the blood (to feed on it) and lymphatic system, and are carried to striated muscle. Once in the muscle, they encyst, or become enclosed in a capsule. Humans can become infected by eating infected pork, horsemeat, or wild carnivores such as fox, cat, hyena or bear. Males of T. spiralis measure between 1.4 and 1.6 mm long, and are more flat anteriorly than posteriorly. The anus can be found in the terminal end, and they have a large copulatory pseudobursa on each side. The females of T. spiralis are about twice the size of the males, and have an anus found terminally. The vulva is located near the esophagus. The single uterus of the female is filled with developing eggs in the posterior portion, while the anterior portion contains the fully developed juveniles. Trichinella spiralis can live the majority of its adult life in the intestines of humans. To begin its life cycle, T. spiralis adults invade the intestinal wall of a pig, and produce larvae that invade the pig's muscles. The larval forms are encapsulated as a small cystic structure within a muscle cell of the infected host. When another animal (perhaps a human) eats the infected meat, the larvae are released from the nurse cells in the meat (due to stomach pH), and migrate to the intestine, where they burrow into the intestinal mucosa, mature, and reproduce.