Slaughterhouse Workers' Mystery Disease Symptoms
Pastor Dale Morgan
Slaughterhouse Workers' Mystery Disease Symptoms *
Thursday January 17, 2008 2:48 AM
By MARTIGA LOHN
Associated Press Writer
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Ill workers at an Indiana slaughterhouse where
compressed air was used to remove pig brains have symptoms similar to
those involved in an earlier outbreak in Minnesota, federal health
officials said Wednesday.
The employees who became ill worked on the killing floors' ``head
tables,'' where the animals' heads are processed, Centers for Disease
Control spokeswoman Lola Russell said. Both plants shoot compressed air
into the skulls until the pigs' brains come spilling out.
``It may be associated with this particular technique of using
high-pressure air to remove the pig's brain,'' Russell said.
The Indiana workers' symptoms included changes in sensation and weakness
in their limbs, Russell said. Those symptoms are similar to a mysterious
cluster of neurological symptoms reported last month among 12 workers at
a pork slaughterhouse in Austin, Minn.
The number of sick workers in Indiana, details of their conditions, the
name of the company and the company's location were not disclosed.
Indiana health officials did not return a phone call seeking comment.
In the Minnesota case, health officials suspect the workers were exposed
to something in the brain tissue that triggered the illness. Officials
are continuing to investigate, but so far they haven't identified any
viruses or bacteria that could be causing the disease.
Five of the 12 workers afflicted have been diagnosed with chronic
inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, or CIDP, a rare immune
disorder that attacks the nerves and produces tingling, numbness and
weakness in the arms and legs, sometimes causing lasting damage.
Dr. Kenneth Gorson, a neurologist at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in
Boston, has said that victims can recover fairly quickly if the illness
is caught early. However, at least one of the Minnesota workers was told
she may never work again. In advanced cases, Gorson said treatment
arrests the disease but doesn't reverse its effects.
Minnesota state epidemiologist Ruth Lynfield said the discovery of the
Indiana illness could help her investigation.
``That may help us figure out why these workers are getting sick,'' she
said.
After the Minnesota slaughterhouse illness was reported, the CDC looked
into slaughtering practices in 25 large pork processing plants in 13
states, and found only two other plants - one in Indiana, the other in
Nebraska - that used compressed air to remove pigs' brains.
Minnesota health officials said the pork plants in all three states have
voluntarily stopped that practice.