Roundworm in pig - what to do? - Ask Extension
Hi there,We just slaughtered 2 pigs for personal consumption. One had large worms in the small intestine. We believe them to be Ascaris/roundworm. We ...
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Roundworm in pig - what to do? #225127
Asked January 21, 2015, 11:40 AM EST
Hi there,
We just slaughtered 2 pigs for personal consumption. One had large worms in the small intestine. We believe them to be Ascaris/roundworm.
We would like to know:
We just slaughtered 2 pigs for personal consumption. One had large worms in the small intestine. We believe them to be Ascaris/roundworm.
We would like to know:
- What other animals can be infected by the eggs? We keep humans, chickens, pigs, cows on the property.
- Is this a concern for human health?
- What precautions should we take to prevent human infection?
- How to dispose of infected manure/bedding and organs to prevent the spread of worm eggs to other animals?
- Can hot compost be effective in controlling eggs/worms?
County
Expert Response
Hopefully a final comment...at the bottom from a veterinarian who commented earlier and then added this after seeing what a few others wrote.
Hello for the 3rd time. I am adding a final bit of information at the bottom.
Hello again, I am pasting more information at the bottom of this original reply.
Hello,
I am not a true expert on parasites but can help quite a bit with some aspects of your questions. To help, I have sent an email to several colleagues (several Animal Scientists and 2 swine Veterinarians) who may be able to provide further information to me. I wanted to at least reply to let you know someone is working on your question. I will hope to provide more information soon (I am traveling Friday so may not visit this again until after that time).
From what I can gather roundworm can be common between pigs and humans. Here is some information pasted from this site: http://parasitipedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2619&Itemid=2898.
I do not see where it is regularly spread to other species. Human infection may be possible, but is rare. Nonetheless , regular hygiene is recommended after being in the area that the animals are in, including washing before eating, smoking or putting hands in mouth. Wash any vegetables/fruit grown in this area. Watch stool/feces (livestock, pets and people) for signs of worms.
These worms are hard to get rid of on a farm level because the eggs can survive in the soil environment for a long time. Your best bet is to work with your veterinarian to routinely worm all animals on the farm. This is always a recommended practice. This will help to break the life cycle of the worms. If you are bringing pigs to your place ask that they be wormed before arrival, then worm them upon arrival based on veterinarian advice and product labeling.
It sounds like you are aware of good composting processes. A good compost temperature above 130 F should kill the eggs. I would suggest placing the organs deep into the compost system. Get them at least 2 feet deep so no scavengers are tempted to dig them up. Surround each organ with plenty of carbon-based substrate (your animal bedding). Allow the compost 8 weeks or more to 'cook', then mix the compost again to get any parasites on the cool outer edge into the middle and to initiate a second spike in temperature. Organ and mortality composting is a routine and highly recommended farm process. Here is a great site for learning about mortality composting: http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/mortality.htm
I hope this helps. I will revisit this question if the contacts I have made provide improved information.
Feel free to contact me directly with further questions.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2nd REPLY POSTING
Some additional information has come to me from a Penn State veterinarian. I am pasting his reply here:
3rd REPLY POSTING
From one of our equine experts:
We just had a program on equine parasites and the speaker was a parasitologist from the Gluck Institute in Kentucky who said that most parasites are host specific.
From another equine expert:
...if they compost up 145 degrees Fahrenheit that'll kill as card eggs.
From a sine vet in our state:
I have never heard or swine roundworms posing a zoonotic issue. The round worms that infect humans are generally from dogs or raccoons. They will not be able to remove them from the environment especially if the pigs are outside. For pigs outside we recommend worming every 2 months because of continual re-infection from the soil. Other control measures would include rotating pastures and cleaning indoor areas.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
4th COMMENT ENTRY
Many parasites are host specific to complete their life cycle. Many many have portions of their life cycle that can be zoonotic. This is especially true of ascarids. Many of them are zoonotic in the larval stage. Migratory stages can cause significant disease in lots of aberrant species. Some = racoon species can be fatal in kids. Eggs are very hardy up to years. Composting reduces but I would be very careful telling folks that composting inactivates all of them. Lots of research to the contrary. Ideal compost in the center of a pile vs. manure piled up. Is stuff on outside truly composted?
Hello for the 3rd time. I am adding a final bit of information at the bottom.
Hello again, I am pasting more information at the bottom of this original reply.
Hello,
I am not a true expert on parasites but can help quite a bit with some aspects of your questions. To help, I have sent an email to several colleagues (several Animal Scientists and 2 swine Veterinarians) who may be able to provide further information to me. I wanted to at least reply to let you know someone is working on your question. I will hope to provide more information soon (I am traveling Friday so may not visit this again until after that time).
From what I can gather roundworm can be common between pigs and humans. Here is some information pasted from this site: http://parasitipedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2619&Itemid=2898.
Are pigs or other animals infected with Ascaris worms contagious for humans?
- Probably YES. Ascaris suum eggs in pig manure and in the environment of pigs can infect humans. Some authors consider Ascaris suum and Ascaris lumbricoides, the human parasite, to be the same species: they are morphologically identical and in some regions human Ascaris infections and contact with pigs or pig manure seem to be associated.
I do not see where it is regularly spread to other species. Human infection may be possible, but is rare. Nonetheless , regular hygiene is recommended after being in the area that the animals are in, including washing before eating, smoking or putting hands in mouth. Wash any vegetables/fruit grown in this area. Watch stool/feces (livestock, pets and people) for signs of worms.
These worms are hard to get rid of on a farm level because the eggs can survive in the soil environment for a long time. Your best bet is to work with your veterinarian to routinely worm all animals on the farm. This is always a recommended practice. This will help to break the life cycle of the worms. If you are bringing pigs to your place ask that they be wormed before arrival, then worm them upon arrival based on veterinarian advice and product labeling.
It sounds like you are aware of good composting processes. A good compost temperature above 130 F should kill the eggs. I would suggest placing the organs deep into the compost system. Get them at least 2 feet deep so no scavengers are tempted to dig them up. Surround each organ with plenty of carbon-based substrate (your animal bedding). Allow the compost 8 weeks or more to 'cook', then mix the compost again to get any parasites on the cool outer edge into the middle and to initiate a second spike in temperature. Organ and mortality composting is a routine and highly recommended farm process. Here is a great site for learning about mortality composting: http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/mortality.htm
I hope this helps. I will revisit this question if the contacts I have made provide improved information.
Feel free to contact me directly with further questions.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2nd REPLY POSTING
Some additional information has come to me from a Penn State veterinarian. I am pasting his reply here:
Round worms were almost eradicated when pigs were moved indoors and off dirt. With small niche farms they are making a comeback. Round worms in pigs are very similar to Ascaris lumbricoides (human) vs. Ascaris suum. Yes, people can be infected and the migration of the larvae cause disease. This is a significant zoonotic disease concern for people.
Real concern is the eggs + manure. Meat is safe when prepared properly, livers with lots of scar tissue (milk spots) should be discarded. The eggs last for a very long time in the soil, so pigs back in same property are likely to get infected next year. Composting will reduce but not eliminate the eggs. Some data has A. suum eggs viable for years. Manure from hogs should not be used on vegetable gardens or in places where kids could get on hands and ingest minus hand-washing. Splashed, dusted from dirt onto vegetables and then eggs are ingested from gardens Hand washing and vegetable washing is key. It is pork, cook thoroughly. A case last year where 10 people were infected---had used hog manure on garden. Put manure on crop ground and bury. Broadcast on ground used for pasture other than pigs. Late fall/early spring so rain/snow and wash off vegetation and down into soil.
Fecal samples and appropriate medications can aid in control and minimize clinical disease. Young pigs are often exposed at or by their dam. If infected most respond to therapy. Treating sows close to farrowing and or careful selection of where pigs are purchased would help.
Chickens and cows not a disease risk.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++3rd REPLY POSTING
From one of our equine experts:
We just had a program on equine parasites and the speaker was a parasitologist from the Gluck Institute in Kentucky who said that most parasites are host specific.
From another equine expert:
...if they compost up 145 degrees Fahrenheit that'll kill as card eggs.
From a sine vet in our state:
I have never heard or swine roundworms posing a zoonotic issue. The round worms that infect humans are generally from dogs or raccoons. They will not be able to remove them from the environment especially if the pigs are outside. For pigs outside we recommend worming every 2 months because of continual re-infection from the soil. Other control measures would include rotating pastures and cleaning indoor areas.
I would think that composting would kill the eggs but I haven't done any research on that specifically.
Finally, from an equine vet:
If this was a horse question I would answer it this way. Ascarids are species specific so they should not have to worry about anything other then pigs becoming infected. The more I think about it I kind of remember something different from vet school. A cursory internet search found this http://jcm.asm.org/content/43/3/1142.full. Which makes it appear that swine ascarids are zoonotic. Equine ascarid eggs take 2 weeks to become infective and are extremely tough and long lived in the environment. So to me the risk of exposure is more from the environment then from the animal they slaughtered and there is probably little they can do to eliminate ascarids from their farm. Ann Swinker just did a talk with me on Sat and in her talk she says composting horse manure at 45 C for 8-24 hours or 55 C for 2 hours will kill ascarid eggs. Other then good basic hygiene I do not know what else to say about preventing human exposure. This is about as much help as I can be.
Finally, from an equine vet:
If this was a horse question I would answer it this way. Ascarids are species specific so they should not have to worry about anything other then pigs becoming infected. The more I think about it I kind of remember something different from vet school. A cursory internet search found this http://jcm.asm.org/content/43/3/1142.full. Which makes it appear that swine ascarids are zoonotic. Equine ascarid eggs take 2 weeks to become infective and are extremely tough and long lived in the environment. So to me the risk of exposure is more from the environment then from the animal they slaughtered and there is probably little they can do to eliminate ascarids from their farm. Ann Swinker just did a talk with me on Sat and in her talk she says composting horse manure at 45 C for 8-24 hours or 55 C for 2 hours will kill ascarid eggs. Other then good basic hygiene I do not know what else to say about preventing human exposure. This is about as much help as I can be.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
4th COMMENT ENTRY
Many parasites are host specific to complete their life cycle. Many many have portions of their life cycle that can be zoonotic. This is especially true of ascarids. Many of them are zoonotic in the larval stage. Migratory stages can cause significant disease in lots of aberrant species. Some = racoon species can be fatal in kids. Eggs are very hardy up to years. Composting reduces but I would be very careful telling folks that composting inactivates all of them. Lots of research to the contrary. Ideal compost in the center of a pile vs. manure piled up. Is stuff on outside truly composted?
