The Use of an Intradermal Test in the Diagnosis of Trichiniasis

Abstract
Of 36 persons ill with trichiniasis (i.e., two to six weeks after infection) 25 (70 per cent) gave positive immediate skin reactions following intradermal injection with 0.1 cc. of a 1:10,000 dilution (in terms of dry weight of powder) of a saline extract of Trichinella spiralis larvae. An additional 8 reacted to a 1:500 dilution of the antigen making a total of 33, or 92 per cent positive. Of 39 persons tested from three to twenty-two months after infection, 19 (49 per cent) reacted to the 1:10,000 dilution and an additional 12 were positive to a 1:500 dilution, a total of 31 or 80 per cent positive. Of 13 persons ill three and one-half to seven and one-half years prior to the test, 3 (23 per cent) were positive to the 1:10,000 dilution, and 5 more reacted to the 1:500 dilution, a total of 8 or 62 per cent positive. One hundred and four control persons from Rochester, New York, showed an incidence of 9 per cent positive with the 1:10,000 dilution and a total of 18 per cent positive with both the 1:10,000 and 1:500 dilutions. Forty-seven control persons from San Francisco, California, showed an incidence of only 4 per cent positive to the 1:10,000 antigen and 6.5 per cent positive with both the 1:10,000 and 1:500 dilutions. Ninety-two persons from southern Louisiana infected with Trichuris trichiura showed an incidence of 18 per cent positive with the 1:10,000 dilution and a total of 62 per cent with both the 1:10,000 and 1:500 dilutions. The practical use of the skin test in the diagnosis of trichiniasis is discussed.