Seal meat is considered a healthy food, traditionally eaten raw by Inuit in the Arctic.

Seal meat is considered a healthy food, traditionally eaten raw by Inuit in the Arctic.
Photo Credit: Andy Clark / Reuters/August 22, 2009

Unprecedented parasite in seal sickens northerners

Seal meat is a traditional staple for indigenous people living in the north, but for the first time, it made 12 of them sick this winter because of a parasite called trichinella.

This parasite is usually found in walrus meat and Inuit hunters have a habit of sending samples of that for testing to a research centre in Nunavik, in the northern part of Quebec province. The parasite can cause symptoms similar to those of stomach flu, as well as rash, fever, and muscle pain.

Seal meat can be cooked or tested

Seal meat is usually eaten raw. Freezing it will not kill the parasite, but cooking the meat will. Alternatively, people can send samples to be tested using the same kits they use for walrus meat.

An assistant to the local public health director is urging people to not change their diets because of these cases. Seal meat is considered to be a healthy food that is high in protein and staves off anemia.

Traditional food is healthier

The turn away from traditional food towards processed food has caused weight gain in many communities which is linked to increasing rates of diabetes. Imported foods are also very expensive in northern communities because they often must be flown in.

There is concern that climate change is affecting northern ecosystems and allowing in parasites and pathogens not normally found there.

(files from CBC Radio)

Categories: Environment & Animal Life, Health, Indigenous, Society
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