A Medical Mystery Unfolds in Minnesota

[mahatmakanejeeves]

A Medical Mystery Unfolds in Minnesota

By DENISE GRADY
Published: February 5, 2008

AUSTIN, Minn. — If you have to come down with a strange disease, this town of 23,000 on the wide-open prairie in southeastern Minnesota is a pretty good place to be. The Mayo Clinic, famous for diagnosing exotic ailments, owns the local medical center and shares some staff with it. Mayo itself is just 40 miles east in Rochester. And when it comes to investigating mysterious outbreaks, Minnesota has one of the strongest health departments and best-equipped laboratories in the country.

And the disease that confronted doctors at the Austin Medical Center here last fall was strange indeed. Three patients had the same highly unusual set of symptoms: fatigue, pain, weakness, numbness and tingling in the legs and feet.

The patients had something else in common, too: all worked at Quality Pork Processors, a local meatpacking plant.
....

A survey of the workers confirmed what the plant’s nurses had suspected: those who got sick were employed at or near the “head table,” where workers cut the meat off severed hog heads.

On Nov. 28, Dr. DeVries’s boss, Dr. Ruth Lynfield, the state epidemiologist, toured the plant. She and the owner, Kelly Wadding, paid special attention to the head table. Dr. Lynfield became transfixed by one procedure in particular, called “blowing brains.”

OK, that's enough of that.

[DURHAM D]

1. My God - now we have Mad Pig?

Bush cut the inspectors and has allowed the processing plants to go unchecked. That god damn son of a bitch.

[Lorien]

2. There is more "mad cow" among sheep than cattle

pigs and deer are also susceptible. I remember reading a story years ago about a man from Cleveland who died from it after he caught it from a deer he had shot and eaten.

[TwilightGardener]

3. Makes sense--aerosolized proteins causing an immune reaction.

Interesting that the floating stuff from pig nervous tissue causes a response in HUMAN nervous tissue--not a respiratory response, say.

[mahina]

4. Gross buckets.

bleh. Thanks though, I'm inspired to cook vegi for supper.

[NutmegYankee]

5. Head cheese anyone?

HEAD CHEESE

Head cheese, also called souse and brawn, is a jellied loaf or sausage. Originally it was made entirely from the meaty parts of the head of a pig or calf, but now can include edible parts of the feet, tongue, and heart. The head is cleaned and simmered until the meat falls from the bones, and the liquid is a concentrated gelatinous broth. Strained, the meat is removed from the head, chopped, seasoned and returned to the broth and the whole placed in a mold and chilled until set, so it can be sliced.

[alfredo]

6. Tastes real good with pumpernickel. I liked olive loaf better.

Can't help it, I was raised around a lot of Germans.

[NutmegYankee]

7. German-American here.

I love olive loaf.

[alfredo]

8. Not sure if were Polish, German, Prussian, Russian. I think it was

Prussian around the time my family left. Our blood, may be Armenian, or maybe we are Iranian. Our surname is on an Iranian town. No matter what, dad spoke German, Granny practiced old world healing arts. Kraut and Brats was a staple. We drank Oertels




We used to go to Smorgasbords at the Democratic Club. Cheese, luncheon meats, interesting breads, and beer was the draw. A rock band would play, but this is Louisville, you have to play a polka or two. It's hard to be cool and play a polka.