FOUR FATAL CASES OF UNSUSPECTED AMEBIASIS

Abstract

Following a meeting of about 125 members of the lumber trade who were drawing up a preliminary draft of a code for their industry, there occurred numerous cases of acute colitis and at least five deaths. The meeting was held in Chicago from June 30 to July 2, 1933. In all cases the symptoms began after the meeting was over and when the men were scattered all over the United States and Canada. We became interested in the situation not because of experience with these or other cases of amebic dysentery but because of close friendship and relationship, respectively, to two of the men who died. The investigation of this situation is far from complete, owing to difficulties in securing rapidly information from many widely scattered localities. This preliminary report is made, however, because it has been found that these cases are a part of a much larger epidemic and