FOOD POISONING
MAN DIES IN HOSPITAL.
THIRTEEN OTHERS ILL.
WHOLE FAMILY AFFECTED.
(Per Press Association). DUNEDIN, January 13.
Poison from meat which had been pickled in a kerosene tin. caused the death of Mr Seaton Anthony Mills, aged 32, of Te Houka. He died in the Balclutha Hospital yesterday. The whole family was affected by eating the meat, and Mr Mills's sister was also removed to hospital, but is not seriously ill.
POTTED AND SALTED MEAT.
DUNEDIN, This Day. Fourteen people were rendered ill by meal of potted meat on a farm at Te houka, near Balclutha, though the only one fatally seized was Mr Seaton Mills, aged 29, already telegraphed.
Deceased and his brother jointly ran a farm, and the meat for dinner had been potted from flaps and the shank end of a wether carcass, pressed in earthern bowl, and salted. Both families partook of this meal, all requiring medical attention. The inquest on Mills was postponed for a report from the Government analyst. -Ashburton Guardian, 14/1/1935.
POISON IN MEAT
FOURTEEN PERSONS AFFECTED
FAMILY REUNION DINNER
YOUNG FARMER SUCCUMBS
(Special to Dailv Times) BALCLUTHA, January 13.
An unusual instance of poisoning, by which 14 persons were affected, occurred in the Balclutha district last week, and as a result one man, Seaton Anthony Mills, died in the Balclutha Hospital on Saturday morning. Mr Mills, who was 29 years of age, was a married man with three children. He was a sheep-farmer at Te Houka, and was well known in the district, having formerly resided in Balclutha. Rumour was rife in the town to-night that a daughter of the deceased had also died in the hospital, but an inquiry elicited the information that the girl is making a good recovery.
The deceased, in company with his brother, Mr Robert Mills, conducted a sheep farm at Te Houka, where, it is understood, their parents also live, although in a different house from the younger families, which reside together. On Friday, January 4. the deceased killed a two-tooth wether for consumption on the farm, and, after covering it with a cloth, hung it in a shed. He cut it down early the following morning to get a chop for breakfast, and the two families had roast mutton from the same carcass for dinner that day. The same afternoon the "flaps" and shanks from the carcass were boiled up by Mrs Robert Mills in an enamel boiler, after which they were pressed for potted meat in an earthenware bowl and salted. The following day, Sunday, January 6, this meat was served for dinner, a meal to which 14 persons — six adults and eight children — sat down, the families of Messrs Seaton and Robert Mills being augmented by that of their sister, Mrs Ferguson, of Gore. It was a happy family reunion which was so soon to be followed by tragic consequences.
FOURTEEN PERSONS ILL
By evening every one of those 14 persons had suffered some ill effects from the eating of the potted meat, and all except the deceased found themselves afflicted with dysentry, although in this case it was lees of an affliction than a salvation, for it undoubtedly prevented their poisoning having more serious effects.
Dr Frengley was called in, and prescribed for the whole 14, including the deceased. His condition became worse during the week, however, and he was admitted to the Balclutha Hospital, where he died on Saturday morning.
CHILDREN ESCAPE EFFECTS
Portion of the potted meat which was left over from the meal was thrown to a dog, which became very ill after eating it, but eventually recovered.
Two children of Mr Robert Mills had dinner with their grandmother that day, and were not affected in any way. With the exception of the deceased the other persons who partook of the meal recovered soon afterwards, but a daughter of the deceased, aged about six years, suffered a relapse during the week and is at present in the hospital. Her condition, however, gives no cause for alarm, and it is expected that she will be discharged shortly.
An inquest will be opened at Balclutha to-morrow morning before Mr W. Roy. J.P., and a jury, and will be adjourned until the results of a post mortem examination of the body are known. -Otago Daily Times, 14/1/1935.
FOOD POISONING
FATALITY AT TE HOUKA
INQUEST CONCLUDED
The inquest on Anthony Seaton Mills, a farmer, aged 29. who died in the Balclutha Hospital on January 12, was resumed at Balclutha yesterday. At the opening inquiry evidence was given that Mills had killed a sheep on January 4 for home consumption. The following day portion of the sheep was consumed for breakfast, and other portions were boiled and pressed. On January 6 the deceased, together with 13 others, partook of the meat, and all of them were afterwards taken ill. The deceased’s condition became serious, and he was removed to hospital, where he died several days later. An inquest opened on January 14 was adjourned, and since then extensive inquiries have been made.
In his evidence, Robert Alexander Mills, brother of the deceased, stated that on January 4 his brother had killed a two-tooth wether on the farm, and the carcass was up in a shed adjoining the stables. Witness detailed the meals the occupants of the house had partaken of, and stated that after dinner on January 6 they had all gone for a walk. Then deceased complained of feeling unwell, and on going back to the house went to bed. Witness also became unwell, and during the night all of the 14 persons who had partaken of the pressed meat were very ill. Deceased seemed more seriously affected than any of the others, and Dr Frengley, of Balclutha, was called. On the Wednesday the deceased was removed to the Balelutha Hospital, and died on January 12. The deceased had no financial worries, and he and his wite were very happy. There had never been arsenic in the house, and he had no idea where it might have come from.
Ivy Phyllis Mills, widow of deceased, said her husband had been a very healthy man, and had never complained of illness. She detailed how the fatal meal was cooked, and corroborated the previous witness’s evidence as to what took place at dinner on the Sunday.
Dr D. M. Frengley, Balclutha, gave evidence as to the symptoms and the postmortem examination. He had come to the conclusion that the cause of the illness was food poisoning. The weather was very hot, and the least contamination of the meat following cooking would result in ptomaine poisoning. He had since been informed that one-fifth of a milligram of arsenic had been found in the stomach of deceased, but that amount was small and not sufficient to cause death. The symptoms of deceased were more consistent with food poisoning than with poisoning by arsenic.
Evidence was also given by Lionel Harry James (Government analyst). Eric Frederick D’Ath (professor of pathology at Otago University), Detective Russell, and Constable Boyle.
After a short retirement the jury returned a verdict that death was due to food poisoning, and added that the steps taken by the authorities were necessary, and that the traces of arsenic disclosed by the analysis were those normally found in the human body, no blame being attachable to anyone. -Otago Daily Times, 19/6/1935.
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