The Bessemer indicator., 1893-04-08
DANGER OF TRICHINE.
A MAN MAY ENTERTAIN THIR-
TY MILLION PARASITES.
symptoms n tbs Disease DeacrIbed-The
Worm That Turks in the Tooth
some Ham and the Tempt
Ing sparerIb.

Ing sparerib.
Those who fear .richiuosis fear
pork most, and their terror is Eot
wholly groundless, writes DIR. j. A.
aottleis in All Eastern paper.
Tho history OF these parasites goes
back almost as far as history itself
goes. 1t is asserted that Moses was
aware of their existence in pork Of
that day. But not until 1884 was any
proper investigation made.
The tricbinn is the most interesting
of entozod animals living within one
another). This mischievous little
worm varies in size from l140 20 1-20
OF an inch in length, by the 1-l,000 to
1900 of an inch in thickness.
1richinae have been found in dogs,
cats, chicken rats, mice. etc. but
the pig is the animal most licbtc tci it.
The pig is brought from the farm
and sold to the butcher, where it is
prepared to be sold as food. The
butcher shop is the resort of rats,
which feed upon the refuse scraps of
meat and i'll due course become in
fected with trichipr. But do not
think that every piece OF pork is in
fected. The proportion of diseased
hogs does not rise above ono in a
thousand. But the danger is never
theless great
The trichina enter the human being
through tho intestinal track after
partaking OF trichinous meat. They
are set free in the stomach by the
digestive process, whence in forty
eight hours they pass into the small
intestine The female is larger than
the male, and in six days the young
are born at the rate of 1909 to each
female, and in about fourteen days
these migrating little parasites reach
the muscles.
Thus an individual having eaten
one-half pound of trichinous meat
may become the unwilling host of
thirty million (3J.00),0ooD trichinn
in u few days. The worm passes
from the intestine to the rcmotest
regions of the body by boring its
then entering and invading the
muscular system. Once in the
muscle tho worm is cnveloped in an
ovoid or egg-shaped cyst or capsule.
Once in this house or capsule it may
remain passive for any length of
time. This is well illustrated by an
incident of many years ago; In
1858 Professor Langenbcck of Berlin
was operating upon a patient
for u tumor on the neck when
he noticed that the muscle
was studded with white specks
which attracted his attention so much
that he at once submitted it to a
microscopical examination, when
be encysted trichinn. After the pa
TENTS recovery minute inquiry was
made to ascertain ut what time he
had become INFECTED. The result was
that no such attack could be traced
to u period less remote than eighteen
years before. At that time, viz, in
1855, the patient, with several nsso-
ciates. was serving upon committee
OF inspection Of public schools. After
the inspection of certain district
the committee partooli at the village
inn OF lunch, consisting in part of
ham. Very soon after all the men,
bers OF the committee were taken sick
with symptoms similar to those we
now know to be attributable to tri-
chinosis. Two of them died, and the
signs of poisoning were so marked
that the innkeeper was arrested and
held under this charge for n consider
able time, although finally the cir
cumstances We're not found sufficient
for his conviction of the crime, yet
they We're considered as so much
against him, and the prejudiccs OF
the community were so greatly OK
cited in consequence, that he was
obliged to leave the place
Trichinosis in tho human being is
almost exclusively tho result of eat
ing tricbipous pork. All ill-smoked
ham, partly boiled pork, sausage or
any other form of pork that has not
been subject to n moist heat of 200
degrees Fahrenheit is dangerous.
Sailing does not necessarily insure
the death of the parasites Acertain
case of trichinosis was caused many
years ago by eating pork chops which
were slightly underdone These
chops were probably well enough
cooked on the outside. but on the in
side they were red and juicy, and the
danger was precisely the same as if
the patient had eaten the meat en-
tirely raw.
In order to destroy the vitality OF
the trichinn the meat should be
subjected to temperature Of 200
degrees Fahrenheit, If you boil q
ham for half an hour or even an hour
you do not necessarily subject all
parts of it to this temperature. In
the central part OF the ham the tom
perature may not arise to that point
unless the boiling has been long CON
tinued. 10 avoid all danger il
should be boiled for much longer
time than is ordinarily necessary.
The symptoms of trichinosis, after
greater or lesser time following the
ingestion of trichinous meat, are
pain in the abdomen, nausea, vomit-
ing, diarrhea, wandering pains in
the muscles and at times stiffness and
swelling of the limbs. Death il
oeused from exhaustion.
To the trained eye it is compar-
atively easy matter to examine mea,
for the presence of trichina. The
flesh continuing the trichinn is stud.
ded with minute wbitish specks,
which with the aid OF any magnifyine
glass can be easily distinguished as
the cysts OF trichinn.
Humnr In Women.
A writer in the open-letter DEPART