EPIDEMIC IN SOUTHERN MEXICO OF DISEASE RESEMBLING VIRUS HÆMORRHAGIC FEVERS

Abstract

In 1967 an epidemic of a previously unrecognised disease occurred in man in Chiapas State, Mexico. It was characterised by fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, hæmorrhagic manifestations, shock, and some deaths. The outbreak was in an isolated, tropical area of southern Mexico and coincided with a striking increase in the rodent population in and around homes. Although no ætiological diagnosis has been established, the clinical and epidemiological findings were similar to the virus hæmorrhagic fever (H.F.) diseases and lead to the hypothesis that the outbreak was caused by a virus, perhaps one in the H.F. group. Sera obtained from patients 2 years after recovery from the disease were tested against arbovirus, Leptospira, Shigella, and rickettsia antigens, as well as antigens of the Tacaribe complex of viruses. Complement-fixation antibodies of low titre (1/2 to 1/16) against Tacaribe complex viruses, Latino and Paraná, found in sera from eight of eleven persons tested were compatible with, but not confirmatory of, the hypothesis.