The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1866-02-16
The Trichina Disease in Prussia.

The Berlin correspondent of the New York
Herald furnishes that paper with an account
of the ravages of this new and terrible dis
ease, which has caused an excitement in Ger
mauy scarcely equalled by that of the rinder-
pest in England. The trtchinG sptrdtts
small microscopic worm or anlmalcUe, which
was observed by the Distinguished anatomist
Richard Owen, in 1885, and is found in the
muscles and intestlnes of various animals, es
peclally pigs and rabbits, in such enormous
quantities that single ounce of pork is said
TO contain occasionally as many as one hun
dred thousand of the parasites: BY partak
ing of the meat infected with them they are
transferred to the human body, causing in
tense 50 ffering which, in many instances. is
followed by painful death. The first symp
toms of trichinitis were noticed some years
since In Dresden, but no particular attention
was psd to it till the summer before last
when g number of cases occurred in Berlin
and in other parts of Germany, which led to
e medical investi CATION of this novel form OF
disease As usual the doctors were IF differ
emit opinions some of them declared shat il
was nothing else than what is generally call
ed measy pork, which had been known for
ages, and has never been thought particular
~ dangerous; and, although many people
rsfrained from eating the unclean animal ,es
pecally in the shape of such German delica-
ces as raw ham and smoked sausages, the
whole affair was eginning to pass out Of
memory. The pork butchers breathed more
freely, and triohinaphobia was almost laugh
ed out OF countsnancs, when few weeks ago
1t was suddenly revived by the announce
ment that at Hedsrsleben, u small place in
Prussan Saxony, the mysterious disease had
broken out with great virulence, and was
spreading over the adjoining villages, It's or
igin being distinctly tracesble to Il trlohinif
erous hog which had been killed BY the butch
or of the place and psrcelled out among the
inhabitants.
The letter writer describes the effects of
the disease in the following terms THE
pork dealers are are at their wits end al
their observations that every ounce of their
wares has been mior0scopioaily examined and
proved 10 be perfectly free from the n0xious
snimalcule; all the medical certificates in
voked in their behalf, are disregarded by the
police. who tubbornly refuse to touch any
thing appertaining to the porclne genus -
The entire population of Berlin have been
suddenly converted 30 Judaism, and display
Il religious antipAthy to the uuciean animal
which must be peculiarly editying to the fol
lowers of the Mosaic law. Roast and picked
pork, hams. sausuges, black puddlngs amt
pigs trotters have vanished from the bills Of
fare: and if the butchers want to save their
bacon they nave no othSE Feauurcs Out TO SAT
il themselves
4 new branch of industry has been called
into existence by the general panic; speci-
mems of the trichina are shown through nj.
croscopes at the moderate charge OF half IL
groschen per head,and the frightf0l aspect Of
the pigmy monsters increases the aversion t.
the once priced delicacies which are said to
harbor them. In en- economical point Of view
the consequences are serious the prices of
other kinds of meat, which are already suf
tieiently high, are daily becoming mora exor-
bitant, and the poorer classes OF the popula
ton, who are never TOO well fed, are in dan
ger of being restricted altogether TO d vege
cable diet. The sunstraction OF 3 staple arci
Gle OF food from general consumption can
hardly fail to produce disastrous effects upon
the public health especially if the rinderpest,
which prevails now in England, should ex-
tend to these regions and still further reduce
the supply Of wholesome nourishment