The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-01-11
THE FORBROOK CASE.
Three More of the Family May
Die.
DR.. Beach Returns From Visit to These
Illfated People.--What ssTri-
chinae Poisoning Is.

DR.. w. A. Beach returned Friday
noon from a visit to the Forbrook
family, eight miles north of Nicollet,
who are suffering from trichinae poi
soning. He was first called into the
case last Saturday evening, after
Nicollet and st. Peter physicians had
been treating the family. and he was
given sole charge.
On or about Dec. 18th, the Forbrook
family entertained Mr.. and Mrs.
Horace Thompson, of CRANKY at din
ner, and all partook of uncooked lean
pork made into the form of sausages
and merely smoked. A few days later
the Forbrooks were taken sick. A
Nicollet physician was called and con-
cluded that the disease was contagious
and quarantined the house, and for a
week the family got along without
nursing or any outside assistance.
Then, the family not improving, st.
Peter physician was called and he
pr onounced the disease "break bone"
fever, which is a disease common in
the south but which is never found in
this northern climate.
When Dr. Beach was called into the
case, he at once dag n osed the COM
plant as trichinae poisoning and
raised the quarantine. Minnie, one of
the daughters, aged twenty, died the
next day, and on Monday the father
passed away, aged fifty five, after
suffering great agony. The mother and
oldest son are at the point of death at
the present time, and another boy is
very sick and may die, but there are
hopes of saving the remainder of the
family.
The Thompsons were taken sick this
week, but are expected to recover, as
they did not eat heartily of the sau-
sage.
Three of the Forbrook children are
practically all right, and two year
old baby was not taken sick. as it did
not eat any of the sausage. The
family numbered twelve, and the
eleven who partook of the sausage
were taken sick in the degree in which
they ate of the unhealthy pork.
The state board of health was noti-
fed Sunday, and Monday DR.. Wilson,
the expert microscopic of the board,
went to Nicollet county and held a
post mortem examination of the father,
Gibhart Forbrook, and took some of
the mu SECULAR tissue to the bacteria
logical labratory at Minneapolis. The
result of the microscopic test was to
ascertain promptly that the family was
suffering from trichinae poisoning.
The Forbrooks made the sausage
from one of their own hogs, and the
only persons who partook of the flesh
of this animal were those who stopped
at the house and had refreshments
there. Several other persons besides
the Thompsons did this, but as they
did not eat much they will probably
escape without serious results.
Trichinae poisoning is caused by
small worms that exist in the flesh of
the diseased animal that is eaten.
Each worm lives encased in little
nest in the muscle and cannot get out
until the flesh is eaten. Then the acids
of the stomach dissolve the case and
the worm comes out. A female worm
may produce colony of 1900 little
worms, and these all dig their way in
to the muscles all over the body, caus-
ing irritation. Each one encases itself
in the muscle and lives there as long
as the person lives. even though it be
years. They cause pains similar to
rheumatism. The cases are so large
that they can be seen by the naked
eye.
DR.. Beach believes that the hog con-
tracted the disease by eating rats,
which are almost always afflicted with
the disease. It is known that cats often
die after eating rats Pc ople say that
it is due to eating too much meat,
when it is really due to trichinae poi
soning Dead rats should not be fed to
hogs or to any other animal which
man cares to have thrive. Rats eat
the dead bodies of other rats, and in
this way the disease is passed along
among them.
Of course, meat that is affected by
trichinae is not deleterious if thorough
ly cooked, for this destroys the worms
that do the mischief. Cases of
trichinae poisoning are very rare, but
when the worms once get into the
muscles there is no way of getting
them out, for any medicine strong
enough to kill them would also kill the
patient.