Meat Poisoning and Botulism in Man. 357 



The disease usually takes a rapid course and the animals die often 

 within a few hours (Roll) or after the disease has lasted from twenty-four 

 to thirty-six hours ; if the eeca alone are affected, death may follow in only 

 seven to eight days. 



The treatment is unpromising. Guittard recommends as a pro- 

 phylactic the administration of a decoction of radix althefe, and the 

 addition of syrup, honey and naphthol to the feed; the latter should 

 previously be softened in a weak solution of carbolic acid or salol. 



Literature. Fumagalli, D. t. W., 1907, 38.3 (Eev.).— Guittard, Pr. vet., 1907, 1.— 

 Johne, S. B, 1880, 39.— Kitt, Pathol. Anat., 1906, II, 61.— Eoll, Spec. Path. 1885, 401. 



Meat Poisoning and Botulism in Man. Meat poisoning in man 



generally occurs after the eating of meat of cattle, calves, cows, some- 

 times also hogs and even horses which have become sick with septic or 

 pyemic inflammatory processes (puerperal fever, purulent mastitis, puru- 

 lent inflammation of serous membranes or joints, enteritis) and have been 

 slaughtered while suffering from these affections. Particularly in sum- 

 mer, more or less extensive epidemics have been observed, variable as to 

 the severity of the clinical picture and presenting sometimes solely the 

 symptoms of uncomplicated gastro-intestinal catarrh, and at other times 

 those of a gastro-enteritis or even typhoid affection with muscular weak- 

 ness and ataxia. Fre(iuent]y the picture is complicated by albuminuria, 

 catarrhal pneumonia, circumscribed cutaneous erythema, urticaria or 

 hemorrhages into the skin. The mortality is rarely more than 2-5%. 



Bacteria concerned in meat poisoning of man may be divided into 

 three main groups. 



Type I. Bacillus enteritis: Bacillus of Frankenhausen (Gartner), 

 B. of Moorseele (v. Emmergem), B. of Gent (v. Emmergem), B. of 

 Brugge, Brussels, Willebroek (De Nobele), B. of Rumflett, Haustedt 

 (Fischer), B. of Cotta (Neelsen, Johne & Gartner). 



Type II. Bacillus Aertryck (belongs to the group of para- typhoid 

 or of hog cholera bacilli) : Bacillus of Gaustadt (Hoist), B. of Breslau 

 (Fluegge-Kaeuscher), B. of Posen (Giinther), B. of Hatton, Chadder- 

 ton (Durham), B. of Sirault (Hermann & v. Emmergem), B. of Calm- 

 phout (v. Emmergem), B. of Aertryck, Meirelbeck (De Nobele) ; to 

 this group also belongs the bacillus morbificans Rosenau which occurs in 

 septic processes in cattle and which, like the bacillus enteritis, causes 

 purulent and necrotic foci in the liver and spleen of inoculated animals. 

 Similar to the latter is the bacillus of Rotterdam of Pols & Dhont. 



Type HI. Bad rium coli, bacillus proteus, etc. The bacteria of 

 the third group get into the meat products after slaughtering and do 

 not very often become the cause of meat poisoning if compared with the 

 other two groups. 



Sausage poisoning (botulism, allantiasis) has been noticed after 

 the ingestion of sausage, corned or smoked beef, canned beef, conserved 

 meat, venison, etc. Sometimes similar symptoms have been observed 

 after the ingestion of salted fish (ichthyosism). 



The cause of sausage poisoning are the toxic products (botulism 

 toxin) of the anaerobic bacillus botulinus of Van Emmergem, Avhich is 

 found in meat preparations and taken with them into the gastro-intes- 

 tinal tract of man. This toxin produces cloudy swelling and fatty de- 

 generation in the cells of the parenchymatous organs and the lining 

 endothelia of the blood vessels, also changes in the ganglion cells of 

 the anterior roots of the spinal cord and in the bulbar nuclei. 



