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Biomedical subjects

W J Zimmermann

Publications and source records attributed to W J Zimmermann.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1983

A trichinosis outbreak in Iowa.

During December 1975 and January 1976, seventy-nine persons in Postville, Iowa, and nearby communities were infected with trichinosis by eating locally produced summer sausage made from a mixture of venison (provided by deer-hunting parties) and pork. More than 242 local residents and holiday visitors from five other states and Canada were exposed to the sausage, in which the venison was mixed in a 2:1 ratio with government-inspected and commercially obtained pork. Laboratory examinations of incriminated sausage samples showed one to 65 Trichinella larvae per 100 g and indicated that temperatures during processing had not exceeded 54 degrees C. Corrective measures centered on improving temperature monitoring during the smoking process at the sausage-preparation plant to ensure that adequate temperatures are achieved. Persons possessing the implicated sausage were advised to destroy it or to cook it adequately before eating it.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Experimental toxoplasmosis in calves and pregnant cows.

Experimental Toxoplasma gondii infections were studied in pregnant cows and in calves. In tests to compare their virulence, three strains of the toxoplasmal parasite were red to cats; then fecal oocysts were collected and given per os to calves. In tests to determine their effects, virulent tachyzoites or oocysts were given to 10 calves and to 22 pregnant cows by the oral, IV, or intraamniotic routes. Clinical signs were fever and inappetence. One cow in early gestation aborted 24 days after IV administration of tachyzoites. Gross and microscopic changes were slight and nonspecific. Toxoplasmas were isolaated from brain or liver of 4 cows, placenta of 2 cows, gastric contents of 2 near-term fetuses, and blood and tissues of calves. Toxoplasmas were not isolated from control cows.

Abortion, Veterinary↗
PubMed1977

Trichinosis in sows slaughtered at a Kentucky abattoir.

From July 26 to 30, 1976, diaphragmatic pillar samples were collected from 513 sows slaughtered at a federally inspected abattoir in Kentucky. The sows represented 5 marketing areas: Rushville, In (186); Cincinnati, Oh )158); Indianapolis, In (70); Georgetown, Ky (54); and Columbus, Oh (45). Using the pooled-sample digestion technique, 3 dead trichina larvae were identified in 1 sample pooled from 15 diaphragms (10 g each). An attempt to identify the individually infected sow(s) was unsuccessful, but the pooled sample originated from animals marketed at Rushville, In. The prevalence (1 of 513) was 0.194%.

Abattoirs↗
PubMed1977

Trichinosis in bears of western and northcentral United States.

Black bears (Ursus americanus) from 10 states were examined for Trichinella spiralis during the 1970-1975 period. Trichinae were found in 14 (3.1%) of 454 bears examined. Infected bears were found from California, seven (13.2%) of 54; Idaho, one (2.3%) of 44; and Wisconsin, six (3.8%) of 163. Trichina counts per gram of tissue obtained by the artificial digestion-Baermann method ranged from 1390 to 0.02. Six California bears and one from Wisconsin contained more than one trichina per gram, a level considered capable of inducing clinical trichinosis in man.

Animals↗
PubMed1970

The epizootiology of trichiniasis in wildlife.

Significant reservoirs of trichiniasis in wildlife have been demonstrated only in Iowa and Alaska. Limited findings in other states would indicate, however, that the problem exists in most of the United States. Based on present knowledge, scavenging is probably the primary mode of transmission with predation being of major importance only in the Arctic region where a significant reservoir of the disease is present in the rodent population. Both direct and indirect routes of transmission of the disease from wildlife to man are indicated with the direct route being demonstrated primarily through the ingestion by man of improperly cooked bear meat. The indirect route, wildlife to swine to man, has been demonstrated as a possibility in epidemiological studies in Iowa. An educational program must be developed to alert the hunter, trapper, and swine producer of the significance of wildlife trichiniasis. Studies on the distribution of the disease in the wildlife population of the U.S., the modes of transmission within and between wildlife populations, and means of breaking interrelationships of the wildlife and domestic cycles of the disease are essential to decreasing and eventually eradicating the disease in man and swine.

Alaska↗
PubMed1966

The transmission of hog cholera virus by Trichinella spiralis larvae.

Studies have been carried out to determine (a) the possible role of T. spiralis larvae in the transmission of hog cholera virus and (b) to determine the effect of elevated swine temperature on the viability of trichinae. Trichina larvae from hog cholera infected swine were freed from diaphragmatic tissue by artificial digestion. Washed and disinfected larvae transmitted hog cholera virus while the supernatant digestive fluid did not transmit the virus. Infectivity of the virus was lost when the larvae were transmitted through albino rats before administration to swine. Temperature elevation of the swine did not affect the viability of the trichinae.

Animals↗