The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-01-17
TRICHINE IN RATS.
Pigs Eat the Rodents and Thus
Become Infected.
THE CAUSE OF TEXAS FEVER.
Tapeworms in the Human Body-Ths
Terrible Heel Fly-Dangerous
Parasites I'm Impure Water.

| A recent discovery TO the effect that the
| trichina of pork, which caused the Amer
lean hog to be so long shut out of Europe,
| are derived from rats, has given new i'm
petus to the pursuit of line of investiga-
| ton which of late has been claiming the
attention of the United States govern
ment.
| Every one has his little foible, as the
| gentleman said when he boiled his grand
! mothers head in pipkin, and pig IS as
| fond of a rat as a girl is of plate OF Ice
| cream. DR.. Leuckhart, the great Leipzig
| professor, who made the discovery in ques-
| ton, collected those interesting ro-
| dents from all over Germany, particu-
! larry from distilleries, slaughter-houses
| and sewers By dissection it was found
that 40 per cent. of them were infected by
| trichins.
| Rats, you see, are cannibals. They eat
| their own offspring and each other, so that
in this way the infection is spread among
them. Whether they ever die of trichi-
nosis is not known, although it makes
them lame sometimes: but an ascertained
fact is that pigs devour them whenever
| they get a chance and so contract the COM
plant Human beings in their turn eat
the pigs and thus acquire the trichina
with frequent fatal results. The disease is
reckoned the most deadly known, mas
much as it kills in go per cent of all cases.
Among the many animals attacked by it
are cats, dogs, horses, bears and rabbits
though how they get the parasites is IN
certain.
The department of agriculture is at
present giving earnest attention to the
study of animal parasites with a view to
finding out methods for fighting against
some of them which cause a loss
of many millions of dollars yearly
to farmers. 1t has recently made
big discovery of its own in relation to
the fatal disease of cattle called Texas
fever, which turns out to be caused by a
minute animal called .'protozoon
This little creature feeds upon the red cor
puscles in the blood and destroys them.
Recent developments Of knowledge re-
veal the protocol as producers of morbid
complaints in almost as unfavorable a
light as has been shed upon the bacteria.
1t has been ascertained that the cause of
malaria is a protozoon which feeds upon
the blood corpuscles, and another micro
scopc foe of like description is response
bic for certain forms of dysentery. IN
doubtedly many disorders not now under
SsoON w AAA SsSAsoSAAy &c AO4CAAS4 w u oli1l-
lar origin.
1t was formerly supposed that the para
sites found living within the bodies of
human beings and other animals came
into existence by spontaneous generation.
For example. the notion was held that
tapeworm was formed by scrap of intes-
tine which got broken off and took to
growing. Similarity the worms of various
kinds sometimes discovered in the mus
cles and even in the brain were accounted
for. They were not believed to be harm
full but were looked upon merely as ZOO
logical curiosities. However, it was no.
ticed quite anciently that people who ate
pork which contained certain small cysts
became sick, and this was one reason why
the Jews declared it unfit for food.
About the year 1885 a great discovery
was made. A medical student in London
found number of little cysts in the mus
Giles of human being, each of which con-
tanned a minute worm. The parasite was
described by Professor Richard Owen
under the name of ''trichina spiralis,"
and he expressed the opinion that it was
harmless. But not long afterward an
epidemic of what is now known as trich-
linosis occurred, and it was found that all
victims had eaten pork which proved to
contain cysts with worms in them. At
, last the secret of this dreadful complaint.
which had so long been regarded as an
insoluble mystery, was out, and the result
was of vast benefit, because science was
set to work at hunting among other dis
eases, to see whether they were caused by
parasites. Hence originally came the first
knowledge of the ill-doings of certain
bacteria.
After several epidemics of trichinosis
had occurred, several nations of Europe.
and particularly Germany, came to the
conclusion that all meats should be in
spected. In Germany today no meat of
any kind is sold which has not been SUBJ
jected to official examination. A few
years ago there was very severe cpl
demic In that country which was traced to
American pork. No mistake could exist,
because the parasites were found in the
pork, from Chicago which the victims
had eaten. Therefore. it was decided that
the Yankee hog should be excluded. Since
the law was enforced compelling the in
spection of every pig sent to market from
this country, the election has been with
drawn.
Owing to the commercial importance of
the American hog. this government has
taken especial interest in the trichina
to be told respecting it. About three DAYS
after infected pork has been eaten and d.
gested the little worms become free in the
lntestines and proceed to breed, being
males and females. A single female gives
birth to from $50 to 1900 young. The
latter, as soon as they are Matched out.
crawl through the walls of the intestines
and get inside of the fibers which compose
the muscles, where they feed upon the
contractile substance. They NAV and
lodgment IN any muscle in the body, but
they chiefly attack those of breathing and
swallowing Thus the patient dies
OF su1ocatlon. Ii only hundred
or so OF the creatures have
been taken into the system. the person ia
likely to recover, but a single bite of thor
oughly infected meat will contain a suffi-
clent number of the parasites to prove
fatal. Medical treatment is of hardly any
avail, the physicians efforts being limited
TO sustaining the vitality with stimulapts
until the crisis shall have passed. This time
arrives when the trichine have ceased feed
ing and are enclosing themselves in cysts
with view to permanent residence. After
that they can do no more harm, unless the
individual should be himself eaten by n
eannibal, In which case the latter would
be apt TO contract the complaint.
Another parasite which the department
OF agriculture Is trying to discover means
Tor combating causes a loss of nearly 81
$4,000 year TO cattle slaughtered at Chi
cago alone. 1t is the dreaded "heel av %
which lays its eggs on the backs of the
animals, the worms Matched from them
boring through the skin and remaining
buried for several months in the flesh
Finally they emerge, fall TO the ground on
through the chrysallS condition and come