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Hirschmann,¹ in his stimulating and fascinating article "What Killed Mozart," suggests that trichinellosis (trichinosis) could explain the death of this eminent composer. This parasitic disease, though unrecognized, was certainly common in central Europe at the end of the 18th century. The parasite was identified in London in 1835² (and not in 1825 as stated by Hirschmann ...) but its clinical relevance was only assessed in 1860 in Dresden. As a matter of fact, more than 80 outbreaks of trichinellosis were reported between 1858 and 1882 in this area³(p130) and, particularly, 2 outbreaks were described in Vienna in 1881 and 1882. Interestingly, this parasitosis is still prevalent in central European countries (Poland, Romania, Balkans, Baltic republics, Russia) where outbreaks are reported among pork eaters.⁴ As mentioned by Hirschmann, many medical causes could have explained Mozart's death but, in my opinion, the major features reported in his article are not particularly . . . [Full Text of this Article]

RELATED ARTICLE

What Killed Mozart?
Jan V. Hirschmann
Arch Intern Med. 2001;161(11):1381-1389.
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