I sometimes wonder just how much of US politics is determined by brain worms.

Alternate title: Bear strikes from beyond the grave

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The rest of the reunion was unremarkable, and the family members departed to their homes in Arizona, Minnesota, and South Dakota.

But just days later, family members began falling ill. One, a 29-year-old male in Minnesota, sought care for a mysterious illness marked by fever, severe muscle pains, swelling around his eyes (periorbital edema), high levels of infection-fighting white blood cells (eosinophilia, a common response to parasites), and other laboratory anomalies.

These dangerous parasites can be found worldwide, embedded into the muscle fibers of various carnivores and omnivores, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Once eaten, larvae encased in the meat are released and begin to invade the small intestines (the gastrointestinal phase), causing pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.

Of eight interviewed family members present for the bear-meat meal, six people had illnesses matching trichinellosis (ranging in age from 12 to 62), and three of them were hospitalized, including the 12-year-old.

The health experts noted how tricky it can be to identify and diagnose these rare cases but flagged periorbital edema and the eosinophilia as being key clinical clues to the grizzly infections.

The original article contains 599 words, the summary contains 186 words. Saved 69%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!