The Portland daily press., 1866-06-23
Trichina in Iowa.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, June IS, 1866

To the Editor Of the Press:
Perhaps nothing has occurred in our midst
for sometime, which has created such pro-
found sensation as the death of four mem
bers of family residing five miles from the
city, at Marion, from the disease Trichiniasis,
Il believe that's what they call it,
Some five or six weeks since the family of
Mr.. Denies, respectable merchant of Marion,
received from farmer not far from town, a
large and well cured ham. People here are in
the habit of eating ham well cured and cut
into thin slices, without cooking, as dried beef
is sometimes eaten. All the members of the
family, except one, partook Of the sliced ham
little boys began to complain of pain in
the back, and then in the muscles of the body
and extremities. Many of the symptoms were
those of typhus fever, and for while he
was treated as fever patient Soon, howev-
er, the remainder of the family except this one
were taken in the same way, and notwith-
standing the efforts ofall the physicians, they
rapidly grew worse, till four with intense ag-
ony died, and three more, including Mr.. Be-
nuts are not expected to survive. Before
death ensued some of the symptoms were
those of some kinds of metal poisons, which
caused the doctors to institute the most rigid
inquiry in regard to their food. AS the mem
Der of the family who ate no pork was
thoroughly well it led to an examination of a
piece OF ham which disclosed the fact that it
was full of worms, imperceptibse to the naaed
eye, but under the microscope displaying a
regularly formed head, body and tail, not un-
like some kinds of snakes in appearance
About the head there appeared even the eye,
nostr1l and mouth. After the death of the
first patient an examination of the muscles of
the back, neck, arms and legs was made and
the same animal in greater numbers was
found in the minutest particles of flesh. In
the muscles OF the back it is estimated that
there were as many as 10000 of the little ami
mails to the cubic inch. In piece of muscle
no larger than a pin head, the writer counted,
under powerful glass, no less than 1873 well
defined animacul@.
Physicians from Chicago and the Iowa Med
ical College have examined the piece of mus
Gle sent them, and they pronounce it the gen.
uine Trichina
The remainder of the ham not eaten by the
family, after the cause of the disease was sus-
pected, was thrown into hog pen where
there was one hog. 1t was eaten by the ami
NAL. In few days the hog refused to eat and
soon died with all the symptoms OF the hog
cholera, which has been so prevalent in both
the East and the West. From this it is infer
red that the hog cholera and the trichina dis
ease are identical. Thousands of hogs all ov-
er the West are dying OF the hog cholera, and
if Trichina is the cause, it behooves us to see
to it that much care is taken not to eat raw
or halfcooked ham, or any portion of the
muscle of the hog. No part ofthe fat portion
of the hog has been found infected with the
trichina.
An examination ofthe heart and lungs OF
the patients who have died, showed but few
of the trichina, though, it seems here and
there one had strayed away or had been left
in the lungs and heart by the blood passing
through. There is considerable dispute among
the doctors, as to whether the animals are dis
tributed through the system by the blood,
while they are almost infinitely small OF
whether they are Matched in the stomach, and
then piercing the walls of the abdomen COM
mence their work Of death. The presence Of
the worm in greatest abundance in the mus
cles of the back and in the vicinity of the
70 he
correct, but their diffusion through every mus
Gle in the system caused many to believe that
the egg or minute trichina are scattered
through the body by the circulation of the
blood.
The inquiry is often made why more deaths
do not occur from eating pork. And the reply
usually is that there is no people in the world
who cook their meat so thoroughly as Amer
leans, and no animal life can Withstand a
heat OF 2S0 degrees. The trichina have been
known to live through heat process continu-
ed to 280 degrees, through boiling, which, as
all are aware, is reached at PIP degrees seems
to be unhealthy for them. Even 2S0 degrees
of heat however, in some instances have failed
to prevent the eggs from Matching. Perhaps
another reason why we do not suffer from the
trichina is, that the animal when taken into a
healthy system, if in limited numbers, is
thrown offwith the waste. The rapidity with
which the worms multiply may be remotely
imagined when it is considered how many
millions of them must be in body, where
there are 10000 to the cubic inch, which
have all generated within the space of four OF
hve weeks.
Any further developments of the disease
Will be watched with interest and duly report
Cd. For the present all will do well to eat no
pork not thoroughly cooked. Frying Is the
pest way to destroy them, but baking will rem
der them harmless. OF boiled pork and es-
peciallY raw ham eat with caufion Ives.