The discovery that two Indiana pork-plant workers apparently developed symptoms of the same mystery illness that struck meatpackers in Austin, Minn., may be a significant break in a case that has baffled disease investigators for a month.

Like the workers in Minnesota, those at the Indiana plant were stationed near a powerful air-compression system used to blow brains out of pig heads during processing, said health officials. The process, which is no longer being used at either plant, exposes workers to floating particles of blood and brain that investigators theorize could have made them sick.

The fatigue, numbness and tingling in arms and legs reported by workers at both plants are hallmarks of the inflammatory neurological condition, which investigators have yet to name.

"It makes the possibility of exposure to the swine brain tissue more compelling," said Ruth Lynfield, Minnesota state epidemiologist.

The Austin and Indiana plants are two of only three in the nation known to have used the high-compression air system to remove brains.

The third, in Fremont, Neb., is owned by Hormel Foods and is also part of the investigation. But so far no cases have been discovered there, Lynfield said. All three stopped using the compressed-air process after the illnesses came to light.

Investigators will be able to compare all three plants "and then find out what the differences are," she said. "It is significant."

Too early for a link

Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, an investigator for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cautioned that it's too early to be sure the cases in Minnesota and Indiana are connected. "They're in the process of tracking down this information," she said. "We're trying to learn all we can."

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