Public Health Advisory – Trichinella alert for Sanikiluaq

The Department of Health is advising residents of Sanikiluaq that a walrus has tested positive for trichinella.

If you ate uncooked walrus recently, and experienced stomach pain, muscle pain, diarrhea, swollen eyelids, sweating and weakness, you might be infected with trichinella, the parasite that causes worm disease.

You should go to the health care centre if you ate uncooked walrus and have any of these symptoms.

Testing walrus before consumption will prevent trichinosis. Before eating walrus that someone else caught, ask if it was tested. Freezing or fermenting meat will not kill trichinella; it can only be killed by cooking. Free testing for walrus tongues is available. For more information, contact a Conservation Officer, HTO or Environmental Health Officer.

A fact sheet on trichinosis can be found on the Department of Health’s website: trichinosis.

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Media Contact:

Gavin Sutton
ommunications Specialist
Department of Health
867-975-5949
gsutton@gov.nu.ca

NT5