MINNEAPOLIS, Jan 18, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- U.S. health officials are
investigating a cluster of neurological illnesses in workers at pork slaughter
facilities in Indiana and Minnesota.
The Minnesota Department of Health said 12 workers at the Quality Pork Processor
plant in Austin, Minn., have reported illnesses characterized by changes in
sensation and weakness in the limbs.
The agency said it learned this week that the Indiana Department of Health and
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating symptoms
reported by several workers at a plant in Indiana to determine if their
illnesses are similar to those found in Minnesota.
The investigators are looking closely at a slaughtering procedure that uses
high-pressure air to remove brains from the swine head. As a precaution, pork
processing plants in Minnesota, Indiana and Nebraska have voluntarily stopped
using the technique, Minnesota health officials said in a release.
While extensive viral and bacteriological testing to find a cause for the
illnesses continues, no viral pathogens have been identified, the agency said.
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