Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 3, 1888, Part I

No. 440.
Mr. Pendleton to Mr. Bayard

Legation of the United States,
Berlin, January 30, 1888. (Received February 13.)

No. 573.]

Sir: Referring to my dispatch No. 545, of the 1st ultimo, relating to an outbreak of trichinosis in Germany, I have now the honor to transmit herewith, accompanied by translations, two articles, taken from Berlin newspapers, containing reports, which have not been contradicted, of further alarming outbreaks in this country of the disease referred to. Some one hundred and ninety persons appear to have been thus far attacked by the disease in the present outbreaks, and there is no allegation that they have been occasioned by the consumption of other than domestic pork.

I have, etc.,

Geo. H. Pendleton.

[Inclosure 1 in No. 573.—From Deutsehea Tageblatt, January 25, 1888.—Translation.]

Görlitz, January 23.

Trichinosis has continued to spread in the Saxon boundary region. The attacks of the disease are no longer confined to Obereunewalde, but have also occurred in Oppach, Lawalde, Beiersdorf, Lauba, Halbau, etc. The number of persons attacked is already over one hundred; but three cases have as yet resulted fatally. As regards the origin of the disease it is said that a butcher of Obercunewalde, on Christmas Eve, made to his customers a present of smoked sausages, in the preparation of which meat containing trichinae had been used. In all the families which had received and eaten those sausages attacks of the disease occurred.

[Inclosure 2 in No. 573.—From Vossische Zeitung, January 27, 1888.—Translation.]

Saxony, January 26. (Own correspondence.)

In view of the visitations of epidemics of the trichinosis with which several places in Saxony have of late been afflicted, the local authorities (Amtshauptmanuschaft) at Plauen, i. V., have recently issued a decree urgently recommending to the individual comm unities of the district the introduction of obligatory examination for tricninosis. In Ober-Cunewalde the persons attacked by the disease have attained to the number of about 170, and 9 deaths have hitherto occurred. At the village of Obersachsenfeld, near Schwarzenberg, a new epidemic of trichinosis has broken out, resulting as yet in the occurrence of 20 cases of the disease. At Ober-Cunewalde a committee has been formed to aid the poor among the persons attacked.