The breakthrough came when the patient disclosed his breakfast routine. He had a lifelong preference for “lightly cooked” bacon, often eating it nearly raw to avoid the crisp texture he disliked. This habit, while seemingly harmless, was identified as the likely source of the infection.
Health experts emphasize that pork products, including bacon, should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145°F (62°C) to kill harmful pathogens. Because bacon is thin, it can be tricky to measure its temperature accurately—but that same thinness also makes it easy to cook thoroughly with proper attention.
While cases like this are rare in the United States, the incident raises public health concerns. As noted in the patient’s case file:
The breakthrough came when the patient disclosed his breakfast routine. He had a lifelong preference for “lightly cooked” bacon, often eating it nearly raw to avoid the crisp texture he disliked. This habit, while seemingly harmless, was identified as the likely source of the infection.
Health experts emphasize that pork products, including bacon, should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145°F (62°C) to kill harmful pathogens. Because bacon is thin, it can be tricky to measure its temperature accurately—but that same thinness also makes it easy to cook thoroughly with proper attention.
While cases like this are rare in the United States, the incident raises public health concerns. As noted in the patient’s case file:
