Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1867-05-18
Trichiniasis,

lege has examined portion of the mus
Gle taken from the body of Miss Ida Hall,
who died in Springfield and found the
trichinae in it III large numbers. He fully
agrees with most of the resident physici-
ans that the young lady's death was caus-
ed by the terrible disease trichiniasis, and
furnishes the following descriptive accoun
of it = @re. ~ I. ...,r
The disease known at trichiniasis is
caused by the presence of a minute para
site infesting the voluntary muscles. The
name of this animal is trichina spiralis, and
in it's popular acception may be called a
minute worm, somewhat like the COM
mon vinegar eel. This animal was first
made known to the world by Prof. Rich
ard Owen of the British museum, London
1885, and been subsequently studied mi
.nutely by Drs. Bowditch ard Wyman of
Boston, and DIR. Dalton of n Y. The
ANIMALS which the trichina most common
ly infests are man and the common hog,
though it has found in other domestic
animals. 1t is however most commonly in
troduced into the human system by using
some preparation of pork as an article of
food. 1t probably can be introduced only
through the intestins, and not by the
skin. Its tenacity of life, like that of the
lower animals, is not little remarkable,
since it withstands heat to the amount OF
l29 Fahrenheit, and is not killed by
temperature of l3 degrees below zero.
Various chemical substances, even those
which partially decompose the muscle, in
cluding common salt, are not injurious to
it, and smoking of hams does not destroy
it.
Trichiniasis has hever prevailed exten-
sivelyin this country, but has been well
known in Northern Germany and Prussia,
and somewhat in France. And in those
countries where sausage and hams are
common articles of diet, and especially
when eaten uncooked, this disease is well
known. So that it is safe to say that if
any person will eat ham sausages or any
portion of the hog in a raw or partially
cooked condition, he runs great risk of
infiicting upon himself this very uncom-
Portable disease.
The trichina when it arrives at its
a lult of its perfect state, surrounds itself
with cyst or sac, in which it remains in
definitely, when, if chance favors its en-
trance into the stomach of other animals
it commences anew its cycle of develope
ment, otherwise it perishes. 1t is neces-
sary, for the development of the tIichina
that it be ingested into the stomach of
another animal from which it bores
through the stomach and ultimately reach
es its destination the muscles of the body.
Each trichina is capable of producing
400 to 1000 young. After the trichinous
food is eaten, in the course OF a week
the young are hatched and commence
seeking their habitat in the muscles.
As already mentioned, these animals,
when in their perfect state, become en-
cysted, or lodged in little bladder. If
they pass to this condition without de-
stroying the individual in whom they
live, the Ghost" may recover from the
disease. In the case. Of Miss Ida Hall
none of them, so far as ascertained, had
passed to this stage of the disease, but
had destroyed her life in the earlier sta
ges of it. Some authors state that as
many as 1900 trichinae have been discov-
cred in the space of square inch, one
fftieth of an inch thick. 7. But possibly in
this case from Springfield tie number
scarcely exceeded one half that number.
There are two stages of this disease when
it runs a'regular course. First, one of
intense pain in the stomach and bowels,
and second that of the muscular irrita-
ton. The first is probably owing to the
passage of the parasite oiand the latter
due to the vermicular motion through
fbers of the muscles In the first stage
within a. week or ten days after the in
gestion of the food, the symptoms may
be very much like 'thoss Of cholerine.
There is pain, sickness of the stomach,
vomiting, diarrhea, feted breath, heart
burn, &c.. or the, symptoms like severe
collie or bowel difficulty. In the second
stages there is swelling or puffness OF
the skin specially about the yes,and some
times it extends to the throat and vocal
passage, 80 that it produces a hoarseness
of the svoice. A great fever heat RACES
and the. pulse is. accelerated to 234, and
respiration from 80 to SO. Violent pers-
piration Il also q symptom Of this stage.