| ■ More Pork Plant Workers Ill | 2008.04.22 |
| More workes who processed pig brains at pork plants in Minnesota, Indiana and Nebraska are developing a mysterious neurological illness, researchers said Wednesday. There are now as many as 24 cases, the Associated Press reported. Details about the ongoing investigation into the cases were presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. Symptoms experienced by the workers include pain, weakness, fatigue and numbness. A unique pattern of antibodies has been found in all the patients. All the affected employees used compressed air to blow pig brains out of the skulls, said Dr. Daniel Lachance, a Mayo Clinic neurologist. All the pork plants have discontinued the practice, the AP reported. Lachance told journalists that the some of the pigs' brain tissue may have been turned into a fine mist by the compressed air. Workers exposed to this mist may have developed an autoimmune response that caused nerve damage, he said. |