Medical Mission to the Yemen, Southwest Arabia, 1951

Abstract

Summary Bacteriological studies, carried out on 358 single fecal samples from persons residing in three geographically different locations in the Yemen, indicate that both Salmonella and Shigella infections occur commonly at all these locations. Scrological studies, using Salmonella nonspecific H and S. typhi O antigens, suggest that both typhoid and paratyphoid fevers are highly endemic. Brucella melitensis agglutination reactions on the serum of 260 persons in Ta'izz and San'a show that brucellosis is fairly prevalent in these localities, over 3 per cent having serum agglutinin titers of 1:40 or greater. Standard Kahn tests were done on 260 sera collected at Ta'izz and San'a. Over 50 per cent of the sera were positive in all age groups included in the survey series. Weil-Felix and complement fixation reactions on sera collected from persons residing in the mountainous districts of the Yemen indicate that both murine and epidemic forms of typhus are highly endemic in this section of the country. Positive OX-K agglutination reactions on the sera collected at Ta'izz raise the possibility that some form of mite typhus may be present.