¹Dr. John Wortabet (1827-1908), an Armenian-Lebanese physician who worked in the St. John Hospital in Beirut and lectured in the medical college there during the second half of the 19th century diagnosed trichinosis in humans in south Lebanon during a massive outbreak in the village of El-Chiam in November 1880—more than 115 years ago. His exemplary observations about the outbreak, which involved 262 cases, including six deaths, were published in Lancet (6). A second outbreak, in the Northern Golan, was reported by Dr. Wortabet in Lancet (4 August 1883). In this outbreak, 40 inhabitants of the village Ein-Kinya, were infected after consuming raw pork from a wild boar. However, in this outbreak, no deaths were recorded. His footnote, at the end of the report, is still timely: "From personal observation and experience I have found the use of pork in Syria decidedly unhealthy. The wild boar in winter is a delicacy, but unless previously examined with the microscope, according to German law, or cooked more thoroughly than is usually done, its use cannot be free from the danger of communicating trichinae to man." Data about Dr. Wortabet courtesy of Drs. Mertyn Malkinson and Arieh Sheskin.