During the fall and winter of 1960-61, among Eskimo families at Bethel and Goodnews Bay, Alaska, there was an outbreak of trichinosis, totaling 24 cases, due to the ingestion of the meat of both black and brown bear. All cases were confirmed serologically and epidemiologically and included 18 clinical and 6 subclinical infections. The high rate of false-negative reactions in confirmed clinical infections, coupled with the high rate of positive reactions in persons with no clinical illness, considerably complicated the interpretation of the skin-test readings for diagnostic purposes. A review of the literature on trichinella skin testing indicated that lack of suitable case and control-group studies, as well as of consistent standardization of skin-test antigens and standard interpretation of the skin-test reaction itself, has precluded adequate evaluation of the role of the intradermal test both in epidemiologic survey and as a diagnostic adjunct. The presence of a relatively large number of cases in which the clinical and epidemiologic diagnosis was clear cut and the existence of a comparable control group in the area led to the initiation of a controlled study of two trichina skin-test antigens prepared at the Communicable Disease Center, in series with the commercial antigen administered and interpreted according to rigorously defined criteria. This paper presents the results of this study.
Notes
From: Fortuine, Robert et al. 1993. The Health of the Inuit of North America: A Bibliography from the Earliest Times through 1990. University of Alaska Anchorage. Citation number 2111.
Cited in: Fortuine, Robert. 1968. The Health of the Eskimos: a bibliography 1857-1967. Dartmouth College Libraries. Citation number 895.