Parasites: A Treatise on the Entozoa of Man and Animals: Including Some Account of the EctozoaCobbold, T. Spencer (Thomas Spencer)
Science
Parasites: A Treatise on the Entozoa of Man and Animals: Including Some Account of the Ectozoa
Cobbold, T. Spencer (Thomas Spencer)
Helminths; Parasites
Up to a comparatively recent date no case of trichinosis had been
recognised in England during the life of the victim. As regards
diagnosis, what was happening every day on the Continent was utterly
unknown here. Whilst, however, not a single instance of Trichina-disease
had been observed by British physicians in actual practice, as many as
thirty or forty instances had occurred where the parasites in question
had been found post mortem. I had myself examined the trichinised flesh
taken from a dozen of these corpses, but in no instance had the faintest
suspicion of trichinosis been entertained during life. The circumstances
attending the only outbreak of trichiniasis that has been witnessed in
England are very interesting. In the month of April, 1871, I received
from Dr W. L. Dickinson, of Workington, Cumberland, specimens of pork
which he requested me to examine; and in complying with his request I
confirmed his opinion that the diseased meat was infested with Trichinæ.
A few days afterwards I announced the discovery in the pages of the
‘British Medical Journal’ for April 22, p. 435. It happened, also, that
at the time I was delivering a course of lectures before the Society
of Arts; consequently, in my second discourse (which was devoted to
the parasites of cattle) I gave full details of the facts that were
obtained. Taking a small portion of the flesh which I judged to be
affected to an average extent I addressed the audience as follows:
“If you calculate from one portion only, you might, if you had stumbled
upon a part which was more infested with parasites than another, be led
to over-estimate the degree of trichinisation. Taking proper precautions
I have calculated that one scruple of this trichinous flesh would give
us 4320 parasites, and two scruples would therefore yield 8640. Without
speaking so precisely to numbers, I do not hesitate to aver my belief
that there are at least 5000 of these parasites inside this small
piece of ham. The number is probably close upon 8640. In one drachm
that would give us 12,000, and in an ounce 103,000, according to the
old apothecaries’ weight. If, however, we calculate according to the
ordinary weight used by butchers, we should say that one ounce contains
437-1/2 grains of meat, and therefore the number of parasites in one
ounce would be 85,000. Thus, in one ounce of meat from this particular
pig you have 85,000 Trichinæ, calculated at the rate of 200 in the
grain, for I have purposely cut off the odd numbers. You may say, if a
person can survive 18, 20, 30, or 40 millions, he would not take much
harm from eating a piece of flesh containing only 8640 parasites. Such
a portion, however, would be quite sufficient to make any one of us
extremely uncomfortable were we to eat it, for supposing its contained
parasites to be alive, it might prove dangerous to life. Why? The
explanation is this:--Half of those 85,000 parasites, at the very least,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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