010626 Mozart's Death Attributed to Pork, Not Poison

New York - Conspiracy theories abound when famous individuals meet an untimely end shrouded in mysterious circumstances. But with the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a simple plate of pork chops -- not murder, accidental suicide or a host of previously suspect diseases -- may have been the culprit that stopped the music cold.

In a review of testimonials, medical records, biographies and correspondences, one American researcher has found evidence that trichinosis -- an illness he would have contracted from eating undercooked pork--is the most likely cause of Mozart's demise.

“There are no remains of Mozart, so no theory can be fully proved or disproved...but this explanation would answer all the issues brought forth by the features of his death as they have been described,” said study author Dr. Jan V. Hirschmann of the Puget Sound Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of Washington in Seattle.

In describing the artist's passing at the age of 35 in 1791, Hirschmann notes that Mozart's body was never autopsied and his remains were lost 7 years later when his grave was dug up for reuse. Complicating matters is the fact that prior to his death, Mozart was convinced that he was being poisoned--although he never identified a perpetrator. Compatriots pointed a finger at rival contemporary composer Antonio Salieri as a possible plotter--a suggestion that Hirschmann dismisses as lacking in motive and substance.

In the June 11th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, Hirschmann also knocks the notion that Mozart accidentally overmedicated himself with mercury for the treatment of syphilis. He further contends that Mozart's high energy level and output up until the last few months of his life argue against the idea that he suffered from some drawn-out chronic illness.

It is when Hirschmann ponders trichinosis that he establishes what he believes to be the most satisfying theory of Mozart's death. The infection, which usually occurs when people eat parasite-contaminated pork, produces symptoms strikingly similar to what is known about the composer's illness.

Not yet clinically identified in Mozart's time, the infection would typically kill a patient within 2 to 3 weeks. After isolating written evidence that Mozart did eat pork--as late as 44 days prior to his death--Hirschmann concludes that the extreme swelling, vomiting, fever, rashes and severe pain the artist experienced are all best explained by trichinosis.

“Obviously he was a musical genius, and he died at a relatively young age...so it's like being presented with a challenging puzzle which one needs to solve,” Hirschmann said. “And I came across this letter he had written to his wife about 6 weeks before he became ill and he was interrupted by his servant bringing in his meal. That allowed me to be confident that he ate meat. It's actually possible, in fact, that the pork chops he was describing were the very ones that killed him.”

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