[5] POISONING BY RED CODFTSTT. lOol 



The examination of this codfish showed that it had a faint putrid 

 odor, and that all along the backbone, on the surface and even in the 

 thick part of the flesh round the backbone, there w.as a very pronounced 

 vermilion color. 



Several other persons who had partaken of codfish having a similar 

 red color, and a certain putrid odor, experienced similar attacks of sick- 

 ness. 



(5) Case reported by Dr. Hechel, of Marseilles, in 1878. 



In 1878 Dr. Heckel visted a family of fifteen persons, who had all 

 been poisoned by a spoiled codfish which had the red color above re- 

 ferred to. The symptoms were similar to those already described, and 

 all the persons suffering from these attacks were quickly cured. 



(6) Case on the flag-ship of the practice fleet in December, 1880. 



This case, witnessed by Dr. Berenger-Feraud, director of the naval 

 health service at L'Orient, was briefly as follows : 



On December 10, 1S80, the practice fleet, commanded by Vice- 

 Admiral Garnault, was engaged in gun exercises out at sea between 

 Frejus and Toulon. After this very tiling exercise, the crew partook 

 of codfish at 10 a. m. At 8 p. m. a sailor from the admiral's ship, the 

 Colbert, became indisposed, experiencing violent colic, accompanied by 

 vomiting. Soon after, and during the course of the night, 35 others 

 from the same vessel were taken sick. On the following day and the 

 day after, 1G more were similarly affected, and in all 52 men were taken 

 sick out of a force of 710 men, composing the crew of the Colbert. 



The symptoms were exactly like those already mentioned, but were 

 not quite so serious, " because convalescence or a perfect cure was 

 effected after a few hours. Even the person who suffered from the most 

 violent attacks was only excused from service for tw r o days. 



"Onboard the five other ironclads and the two transports where 

 codfish from the commissary at Toulon had likewise been used, there 

 were 50 cases of sickness like the one described, but none of them was 

 serious. In all about 100 persons were affected, and none of these suf- 

 fered more than one to two days." 



(7) Case in the fleet at V Orient, on October 3, 1884. 



This case, observed and carefully described by Dr. Berenger-Feraud, 

 is of the greatest importance, and we believe that it really has been 

 the determining cause of the recent ministerial circular prohibiting the 

 sale of red codfish. It is, therefore, proper that we should give it 

 somewhat more in detail. 



The first report on this case was published by Dr. Berenger-Feraud 

 in the Archives de Medecine navale (vol. for 1SS4-'S5) under the title, 

 " Etude d'un empoisonnement multiple survenu a L'Orient par l'usage de 



