Game meat food safety research points to several measurable risk patterns. U.S. surveillance linked many trichinellosis cases to wild game, especially bear meat, while field studies measured bacterial contamination on wild-deer hides and carcasses. Brucellosis surveillance also recorded hunting among reported animal-contact exposures. These figures describe reported cases and specific studies, not the prevalence or safety of every portion of game meat.
Table of contents
- U.S. trichinellosis burden and wild game
- Species and preparation patterns
- Seasonality and meat categories
- Recent outbreaks and cooking measurements
- Brucellosis surveillance and hunting exposure
- Wild venison contamination measurements
- Tularemia findings in game animals
U.S. trichinellosis burden and wild game
The CDC recorded 72 U.S. trichinellosis cases during 1997–2001. Wild game was associated with 31 cases, or 43% of the total. Bear meat accounted for 29 of those 31 wild-game-associated cases. Cougar meat accounted for 1 case, and wild boar meat accounted for another 1 case. These numbers come from the CDC report Trichinellosis Surveillance — United States, 1997–2001.
The same surveillance period included 12 cases associated with commercial pork products, or 17% of all cases, and 9 cases associated with noncommercial pork, or 13%. Nine outbreaks were reported. Common-source outbreaks accounted for 33 cases, or 46% of the 72-case total. Males represented 52 patients, or 72%.
Those figures are historical surveillance results for 1997–2001. They show how strongly wild game contributed to the cases classified in that period, but they do not estimate the risk of eating all wild game or establish a current national rate.
Species and preparation patterns
The CDC recorded 54 trichinellosis cases during 2002–2007, including 16 outbreak cases. Nonpork products were implicated in 27 cases, or 50%. Bear meat was implicated in 21 cases, or 39%. Wild boar meat was implicated in 2 cases, or 4%; cougar meat in 1 case, or 2%; deer meat in 1 case, or 2%; and bear or deer meat in 1 case, or 2%.
The species pattern is useful for readers who prepare hunted meat because it separates the broad nonpork category from named game species. Bear meat was the largest identified nonpork category in this CDC report. Deer appeared in one case classification, while wild boar and cougar each appeared in small numbers.
Geography also varied. Alaska reported 10 cases during 2002–2007, including 8 outbreak cases. California reported 10 cases, including 2 outbreak cases. The annual U.S. counts were 10 in 2002, 6 in 2003, 5 in 2004, 15 in 2005, 13 in 2006, and 5 in 2007. The source is Trichinellosis Surveillance — United States, 2002–2007.
| Surveillance measure | Result | Period |
|---|---|---|
| All reported trichinellosis cases | 54 | 2002–2007 |
| Outbreak cases | 16 | 2002–2007 |
| Nonpork-associated cases | 27 (50%) | 2002–2007 |
| Bear-meat-associated cases | 21 (39%) | 2002–2007 |
| Alaska cases | 10, including 8 outbreak cases | 2002–2007 |
| California cases | 10, including 2 outbreak cases | 2002–2007 |
Seasonality and meat categories
For 2008–2012, the median annual trichinellosis count was 15 cases, and the mean annual U.S. incidence was 0.1 cases per 1 million population. Pork products were associated with 22 of 84 cases, or 26%. Nonpork products were associated with 45 of 84 cases, or 54%. Thus, in this surveillance report, nonpork-associated cases outnumbered pork-associated cases 45 to 22. The CDC source is Trichinellosis Surveillance — United States, 2008–2012.
Bear meat alone was associated with 41 of 84 cases, or 49%. Cooking information was available for 51 patients; 24 of those patients, or 47%, reported eating raw or undercooked meat. This is a subset of patients with available information, not a percentage of every person with trichinellosis.
Onset season was known for 70 patients. Twelve cases occurred in winter, 8 in spring, and 41 in fall. The supplied surveillance figures therefore show a concentration in fall among cases with known onset season. Eighty-seven percent of October–November cases were associated with California bear-meat outbreaks. One October 2008 California bear-meat outbreak accounted for 28 of the 84 cases, or 33%.
Recent outbreaks and cooking measurements
The CDC recorded 7 U.S. trichinellosis outbreaks with 35 probable or confirmed cases during January 2016–December 2022. In a 2022 bear-meat outbreak, 6 trichinellosis cases were identified among 8 people who shared the meal. Two patients ate only vegetables cooked with the bear meat, according to Outbreak of Human Trichinellosis — Arizona, Minnesota, and South Dakota, 2022.
The bear meat had been frozen for 45 days before it was grilled and served rare. The investigation found motile Trichinella larvae in bear meat that had been frozen for more than 15 weeks. The report cited published prevalence estimates among black bears in Canada and Alaska ranging from at least 1% to 24%. These are prevalence estimates cited in that 2024 report, not a single estimate for all bears or all regions.
Another CDC report described a suspected North Carolina outbreak in November 2023 involving 10 probable trichinellosis cases. The report states that an internal temperature of at least 165°F (74°C) is necessary to kill Trichinella in wild game meat. Patients in that investigation reported approximately $100 per course for albendazole treatment. See Notes from the Field: Suspected Outbreak of Trichinellosis Associated with Undercooked Bear Meat — North Carolina, November 2023.
For additional historical context, the CDC reported 13 trichinellosis cases in 2015: 10 confirmed and 3 probable. That figure appears in Summary of Notifiable Infectious Diseases and Conditions — United States, 2015. It should be read as a reported total for 2015, not as a current estimate.
Brucellosis surveillance and hunting exposure
CDC surveillance received reports of 1,796 U.S. brucellosis cases from 54 jurisdictions during 2010–2024. Confirmed cases represented 1,377 of the 1,796 reports, or 77%. Annual U.S. reports ranged from 71 to 165 cases. The median patient age was 49 years, and males accounted for 1,069 cases, or 60%.
State totals differed substantially. California reported 371 cases, the largest state total in the report. Texas reported 327, and Florida reported 128. These are counts across 2010–2024, not population-adjusted rates.
Supplemental exposure information was available for 503 cases. Of those, 229 people, or 45.5%, reported animal contact during the prior 6 months. Hunting was reported as a contact type for 56 of the same 503 cases, or 24.5%. The contact data include mixed animal and animal-product exposures; the hunting figure should not be interpreted as proof that every such case came from eating hunted meat. The source is Brucellosis Surveillance — United States, 2010–2024.
Wild venison contamination measurements
Food Standards Scotland reported a very low prevalence of harmful E. coli O157 in wild-deer fecal samples: 0.3%, during the Scottish Deer Health Survey 2017–2019. The organization’s risk assessment for STEC contamination in wild venison provides the measurement context.
A related field study, published in 2020, measured geometric mean bacterial counts on different parts of wild deer. The geometric mean coliform count was 5.78 log10 CFU/cm² on hides, 6.80 log10 CFU/cm² in carcass cavities, and 6.36 log10 CFU/cm² on the external surface of skinned carcasses. The geometric mean E. coli count was 1.82 log10 CFU/cm² on hides and 2.27 log10 CFU/cm² in carcass cavities. These measurements are reported in The risk of STEC contamination in wild venison.
Because these values use log10 CFU/cm², they are surface and carcass measurements rather than clinical case counts. They also come from a Scottish field study and should not be presented as measurements for every hunting region. The difference between hides, cavities, and skinned carcass surfaces illustrates why contamination data need to be tied to the exact sampling location.
Tularemia findings in game animals
Veterinary agencies in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, tested 2,145 animal samples for tularemia during 2012–2022. Laboratory results were available for 2,138 samples, and 564, or 26%, were positive. Brown hares supplied 1,839 of the 2,145 samples, or 86%.
Positivity among tested animal samples varied by year, ranging from 5% in 2012 to 34% in 2016. The source is Epidemiology of Tularemia among Humans and Animals, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, 2012–2022.
These tularemia results concern tested animals in one German state and a sample set dominated by brown hares. They are not a venison contamination rate and cannot be converted into a general risk estimate for wild game. Together with the Scottish venison measurements and U.S. disease surveillance, they show why species, geography, sampling design, and preparation details matter when interpreting game meat food safety statistics.