PTOMAINE POISONING.

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 68, 21 March 1906, Page 7

PTOMAINE POISONING.

- • ♦ ITS CAUSES AND EFFECTS, DANGERS OF DECOMPOSED FOOD. The wholesale poisoning caused at the Ohinemuri Jockey Club's race meeting at Paeroa through the eating of potted tongue has caused a good deal of discussion in tho city. It is pertinent, therefore, to enquire into the causes and effects of ptomaine poisoning and the danger of contracting it through eating tinned meats, fish, or fruit. A Post reporter called on Dr. Ewart at the Hospital, and was very courteously supplied with certain information which will be read with interest. Ptomaines are decomposition products, and always contain nitrogen. To the lay mind the word conveys the idea of deadly poison; but all ptomaines are not necessarily poisonous; in fact, only a very small minority aro poisonous. Whether, in any case of decomposition, any ptomaines will be formed, and, if any,_ what kinds, depends upom the species of organisms present, the nature of the material, temperature, access of j air, and other conditions. It appears to be_ not always essential that tissues containing ptomaines shall bo dead, for in [ a number of cases of poisoning following the ingestion of freshly gathered mussels and oysters the cause has definitely | been demonstrated to havo been these | bases. As a rule ptomaine-poisoning is duo to contaminated milk or cheese, or to meats or fish that have begun to decompose. The stage of the process of decomposition is of no great importance, for as they are only transition products, ptomaines may be present or may have disappeared at any stage, and meat that is not perceptibly tainted may be very toxic, while that which i 3 decidedly bad may bo perfectly innocuous. In point of fact most ptomaine poisoning is due to foods not markedly decomposed, since those that are repugnant to the senses are rejected at once. Ptomaine-poison-ing as a rule manifests itself within a short time after eating. The symptoms include abdominal pain, vomiting, feeble and irregular pulse, dryness and constriction of the throat, and cyanosis. Dr. Ewart stated that, although cases were reported occasionally, ptomainepoisoning was really not prevalent, and no alarm need be felt at what happened up north so far as tho eating of tinned foods is concerned. Ptomaine-poisoning was not necessarily confined to tinned foods ; it might originate in meat recently killed or in milk. The most common causes were the tinning of decomposed or slightly tainted food, or the use of insufficiently sterilised or dirty tins. If tainted meat was tinned the process of decomposition went on after it was sealed ; in the same way meat that is placed in dirty tins becomes tainted and poisoning results from eating it. Even where cows are milked in dirty yards there is great danger of the milk becoming contaminated. Cases are on record where fatal cases of ptomaine-poisoning have occurred through drinking milk from cows milked in insanitary yards. The only safeguards against ptomainepoisoning are carefulness and scrupulous cleanliness on the part of those who handle food. Fresh meat may become contaminated through being placed in an unclean safe, and the same applies to butter, cheese, and milk. Dr. Ewarfc emphasised the advisableness of always removing tinned meats from the tin when opened, and consuming them the same day. Meat, fish, or fruit should never be left m the tin after being opened. [BY TELEGRAPH — FBESS ASSOCIATION.] THAMES, This Day. All the victims of ptomaine poisoning at tho Paeroa races are recovering. The Thames residents attacked are now out of danger. Some narrow escapes are reported. Had it not 'been for the prompt remedial measures taken and the liberal administration of emetics, more serious consequences would have occurred.