BrainBlog

From today's New York Times : A Medical Mystery Unfolds in Minnesota By DENISE GRADY Published: February 5, 2008 [snip] By then, November 2007, other cases had begun to turn up. Ultimately, there were 12 — 6 men and 6 women, ranging in age from 21 to 51. Doctors and the plant owner, realizing they had an outbreak on their hands, had already called in the Minnesota Department of Health, which, in turn, sought help from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though the outbreak seemed small, the investigation took on urgency because the disease was serious, and health officials worried that it might indicate a new risk to other workers in meatpacking. “It is important to characterize this because it appears to be a new syndrome, and we don’t truly know how many people may be affected throughout the U.S. or even the world,” said Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, a veterinarian from the disease centers. In early November, Dr. Aaron DeVries, a health department epidemiologist, vi...

From the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) on 31 January 2008: Investigation of Progressive Inflammatory Neuropathy Among Swine Slaughterhouse Workers --- Minnesota, 2007---2008 [snip] "This report summarizes an ongoing investigation of PIN, a syndrome that appears to be associated with swine slaughterhouse workers who process pig heads. Several clinical and laboratory features of this illness and the distinctive epidemiology associated with patients appear unique. Pigs slaughtered at plant A have passed inspection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the investigation has not identified any foodborne risk to the general population. "The investigation in Minnesota indicates that PIN appears associated with having worked at the head table, where a compressed-air device was used to extract pig brains. In the process of blowing compressed air into the pig skull, brain material might have been splattered or even aeros...