1924 — Feb 2, Food Poisoning (botulism from home-canned green beans), ~Albany, OR– 12

–12  Poseyville News, IN. “Botulism Poisoning in Oregon.” 12-26-1924, p. 3.

–12  Stricker and Geiger. “Outbreaks of Botulism at Albany, Oregon…” Public Health Reports

 

Narrative Information

 

April 4, PHR: “There recently occurred in Albany, Oreg., an outbreak of botulism, involving 12 persons and with 12 deaths. The causative food was string beans, locally grown and stated to have been home canned by the ‘cold pack’ process, at water bath temperature.

 

“On February 2, 1924, 12 members of 3 families ate the noon meal together. Of those present, 6 were adults and 6 were children; 7 were females and 5 were males. The ages varied from 18 months to 76 years. Two of the persons were nursing children 18 months of age. Several members of the three families lived on a ranch about 11 miles from Albany, Oreg., and the noon meal on February 2 was the only meal that they had had in common for one week.

 

“The meal causative of the outbreak consisted of cooked fresh meat, boiled potatoes, home-canned string beans served as a salad with dressing of oil and vinegar, bread and butter, coffee, and fresh milk. The salad was made from unheated string beans from a quart glass jar with a screw top of metal. The beans were grown in the soil of the garden adjoining the house in Albany. The home-canned string beans had probably been canned two or more years previously and apparently were normal in odor, taste, and appearance. None of the string beans served in the salad were available for laboratory examination, as all had been consumed at the meal. The jar had been cleansed and misplaced. There were recovered, however, five other jars of string beans, from various places in the home at Albany, presumably of the same pack. The contents of two of these jars appeared spoiled and, on close examination, the contents of four jars had a distinctly ‘off’ odor to an experienced observer. The string beans in three of the five jars recovered were proved to contain a toxin of B. botulinus, type A. It is of interest to note that of the jars of beans the contents of which were toxic, one was normal in odor and appearance. [end of p. 655]

 

“….Home canning was obviously practiced in the household on a large scale, as nearly every variety of food stuff was represented, and the glass jars of food were found distributed about the house from the garret to the cellar. It is of further interest to note that the member of the family responsible for the canning of the string beans has been raising vegetables for a considerable period of time on the same soil and canning vegetables for nearly 30 years in Albany. During this period both raw and canned vegetables have been sold to and evidently eaten by many residents of Albany without untoward results. It was admitted, however, that about the period of the canning of the string beans served in the salad mentioned above, probably two years previous, an outbreak of ‘limberneck’[1] in chickens occurred at the home in Albany, but the causative food is unknown….

 

“The string-bean salad, which was served cold without any preliminary heating, was prepared from the entire contents of a 1-quart glass jar. Besides the two children, 18 months of age, there were three other children, 6, 9, and 12 years of age, respectively. It was admitted that the 18-month-old children were served a teaspoonful or two of the raw liquid from the jar of beans, and in one instance, part of a string bean. Of those from whom the knowledge could be obtained, seven stated that they ate freely of the salad, and two others said that only a small amount was consumed. One of the latter complained of an ‘off’ taste, but others stated that the taste was excellent.

 

“The earliest incubation period noted was 16 hours. This occurred in two children, aged 6 and 9 years, respectively. These children ate freely of the salad. The longest incubation period, 40 hours, [end of p. 656] was noted in a child 3 years of age. An effort was made to determine the relationship, if any, to the stated amount consumed and the incubation period. Of those who stated that they had eaten freely of the bean salad, incubation periods were recorded as follows: 2 of 16 hours, 1 of 18, 2 of 20, 1 of 24, 1 of 27, and 1 of 36 hours. The incubation noted in those who ate sparingly or just a small amount of the string beans, as in the case of the children 18 months of age, was as follows: 1 of 24 hours, 1 of 32, 1 of 35, and 1 of 40 hours.

 

“The time of death after consumption of the causative food also varied. Of those who ate freely of the bean salad, the time of death was recorded as follows: 1 within 27 hours, 1 within 30, 1 within 36, 1 within 38, 1 within 56, 1 within 58, 1 within 82, and 1 within 103 hours. The earliest time of death after the meal was recorded in the two children, aged 6 and 9 years, respectively, and these children also had the shortest incubation period. The relation of the incubation period in these children to their time of death was 16 hours to 27 and 30 hours, respectively. There was an incubation period in one case of 20 hours, in which case death occurred 103 hours after the consumption of the meal.

 

“Of those who ate sparingly of the beans, there was an incubation period in one case of 24 hours, with death occurring on the eighth day. The time of death after the consumption of the toxic food in three other persons was 50, 60, and 90 hours, respectively.

 

“It is of interest to note that 10 of the cases in this outbreak had an onset with vomiting. In only one of these was diarrhea noted. This initial diarrhea, however, was followed by constipation. Five of the cases could be considered ambulatory, as they remained up and moving about almost until the time of death. In fact, one case took excellent care of several others, notwithstanding the fact that the symptoms of difficulty of vision, respiration, and swallowing, and the presence of large amounts of mucus in the throat, were constantly present. Another case drove an automobile several times in the trip from Albany to the country ranch and return…. [p. 657]

 

Summary

 

“This outbreak of botulism is one of the largest in mortality to be recently recorded in the United States. The outbreak seems proved, since cultures of the spleen from one case, tests for toxin in three jars of home-canned string beans of probably the same pack as the causative food, and cultures of the soil in which the string beans were grown showed the presence of the toxin of B. botulinus, type A. The anatomical findings as recorded in one autopsy may be regarded as additional proof. Clinically, there is no doubt as to the diagnosis of botulism.” (Stricker and Geiger. “Outbreaks of Botulism at Albany, Oregon, and Sterling Colorado, February, 1924.” Public Health Reports, Vol. 39, No. 14, 4-4-1924, pp. 665-663.)

 

Dec 26: “The United States public health service reports another outbreak of botulism, this time in Oregon. As frequently happens, the cause in this case was string beans, home canned by the cold pack method.

 

“On February 2, 1924, 12 members of three families ate their noon meal together. There were six adults and six children, the ages running from eighteen months to sixty years. The meal consisted of cooked fresh meat, boiled potatoes, a salad of home-canned string beans, bread, butter and coffee. The beans were home-grown as well as home-canned and had been put up several years pervious, in an ordinary screw-topped can. They were apparently safe, as far as could be told by odor, taste and appearance.

 

“All present ate some of the beans, the two eighteen-months-old children being given a few teaspoonfuls of the liquid. The earliest illness occurred in two children, aged six and nine, in 16 hours. The longest interval was in a child of three, who did not show any symptoms until after 40 hours. All of the 12 persons became ill, with vomiting, rapid pulse, subnormal temperature, difficulty of respiration and death. The time of death after eating the poisoned food varied from 27 hours to eight days. Every one of the 12 persons died.

 

“The germ which is responsible for this disease, the bacillus botulinus, is very commonly found in ordinary garden dirt. When vegetables are put up by the cold pack method, the amount of heat used is not enough to kill these germs. They grow in the cans and develop the poison, which is almost always fatal if taken in any quantity.

 

“Thorough cooking kills the germs and destroys the poison. Any canned food which shows any signs of spoiling in odor, color, taste or appearance should be thrown away. Any canned foods, especially those put up by the cold pack method, should be thoroughly cooked before serving. Don’t take any chances. Any disease which kills 100 per cent of those who get it is not to be trifled with.” (Poseyville News, IN. “Botulism Poisoning in Oregon.” 12-26-1924, p. 3.)

 

Earlier Reporting:

 

Feb 7 report: “Albany, Or.–Seven persons were dead and three others were dying here Monday night [Feb 4] as the result of eating home-canned beans, which were believed to have spoiled and thus produced the deadly poison known as botulinus.

 

“The dead: Mrs. Paul Gerbig, 34; Hilda Gerbig, 10; Marie Gerbig, 7; Gotfried Ruehling; Mrs. Gotfried Ruehling; Werner Yunker, 10-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Yunker of Thomas station, near Scio; Reinhold Gerber.

 

“The dying: Paul Gerbig; Esther Gerbig, 13 months old; two-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Ruehling.

 

“Two other persons were stricken ill by the strange malady but were reported to have fully recovered. Mrs. Reinhold Gerber, at whose home the fatal dinner was served, apparently was none the worse for her experience and two-year-old Margaret Gerbig was believed to have escaped the poisonous food. The child is still fed by bottle and it was not known whether or not she had any of the vegetable dish at dinner.

 

“The death of 13-months-old Esther Gerbig was declared by attending physicians to be only a matter of hours and they held out no hope for the recovery of any of the other three victims.

 

“The case of Gotfried Ruehling was probably the strangest of all. He was reported dead earlier in the day but revived from the state of coma which usually precedes death from the strange malady and for a time was believed to be on the road to recovery. Suddenly, however, his condition became worse and he died.

 

“None of the deaths occurred until more than 24 hours after the fatal meal.

 

“Mrs. Gerber declared that she suspected that the beans were spoiled when she opened them but did not pay any attention to their queer appearance. Young Yunkers, a friend of the families, spoke of the peculiar odor and taste of the beans at the time. As all of the people present were similarly affected the poisoning is regarded as an accident.

 

“Botulinus, the poison which is presumed to have caused the deaths, thrives and propagates at a temperature of 120 degrees above zero, at which temperature other germs die. The bacteria comes from a spore that originates in the ground and is destroyed only when the temperature reaches 240 degrees or more, it is said. Commercial vegetables are cooked at a degree or so more than 240 degrees above zero and are said to be free from the bacteria, although all home-canned goods are subject to it.” (Maupin Times, OR. “Poisonous Food Kills 7.” 2-7-1924, p. 2.)

 

Sources

 

Maupin Times, OR. “Poisonous Food Kills 7.” 2-7-1924, p. 2. Accessed 1-13-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/maupin-times-feb-07-1924-p-2/

 

Poseyville News, IN. “Botulism Poisoning in Oregon.” 12-26-1924, p. 3. Accessed 1-12-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/poseyville-news-dec-26-1924-p-3/

 

Stricker, Frederick D. and J. C. Geiger. “Outbreaks of Botulism at Albany, Oregon, and Sterling Colorado, February, 1924.” Public Health Reports, Vol. 39, No. 14, 4-4-1924, pp. 665-663. Accessed 1-13-2019 at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1975951/

 

 

[1] “‘Limberneck,’ the common name for botulism in birds, comes from the neck paralysis typically seen in affected birds. Signs in broiler chickens may also include ruffled or quivering feathers, feathers that are easily pulled out, labored breathing, and sometimes diarrhea with excess urates in loose droppings.” Merck Veterinary Manual. Overview of Botulism in Poultry.