Trichinosis (Trichinella spiralis infestations) in wild animals of the Kruger National Park.

In Africa trichinosis is essentially a disease of wild carnivores. Once established in a suilline cycle it becomes a more important threat to man. The results of tests on 8,000 specimens of 20 wildlife species in the Kruger National Park are discussed and the epizootiology of trichinosis in South Africa is briefly reviewed. The first case of trichinosis in an African civet, Viverra civetta Schreber, 1776, is reported. The confirmed absence of trichinosis in true herbivores is of practical significance in view of the increasing utilization of game meat as food.