Abstract
The present paper deals with the epidemiology and the bacterial flora of the throat mucus membrane of the cases of the Izuminetsu fever-like disease occurred in Edagawa, Katsuta-machi, Ibaraki Prefecture in January, 1952.
The total number of cases was 45, woich occurred during the period from January 7 to 21, 1952. Most of the cases were school children, and were distributed roughly evenly among both sexes, According to information, the school children had several gatherings before the epidemic. The epidemic area was a low lying area along a river. When the epidemic waves were analysed by the helpful materials obtained in the occurrence patterns by areas and sexes in 8 small villages, the authors received an impression that, although the epidemic waves were simple, the cause of the epidemic was exercising multiple influences. The problem of the occurrence within a family was discussed referring to the above findings. The authors also stated that the present epidemic might be an epidemic of Izuminetsu fever, when viewed from the clinical findings and the epidemic waves. According to authors' routine procedures, the throat flora of 28 cases and 9 controls were classified by the cultivations on yeast extrct rabbit blood agar, semi-solid carbohydrate serum broth, 5% rabbit blood agar with or without 1% glucose and salt mannitol agar, and by Gram staining.
The throat flora were classified tentatively as follows:
1. Neisseria group
2. α-type Streptococcus group
3. β-type Streptococcus group
4. γ-type Streptococcus group
5. Corynebacterium group
6. Staphylococcus aureus group
7. Micrococcus group I
8. Micrococcus group II
9. Hemophilus hemolyticus group
10. Non-hemolytic hemophilus group
The frequency of detection and the quantitative relations of these flora were also racorded.
As the results of the analysis of these data, the authors found it difficult to recognize any specific mutation among the bacterial flora of the throat mucus membrane of these cases. The present report will be followed by Reports 2, 3 and 4 of the same series of studies.
