A survey reported by Sawyer and Whitman (1) showed that there is a broad zone through the center of Africa in which there is a high incidence of humoral immunity to yellow fever. This zone extends from the West coast across central Africa and into, but not through, Uganda. Following this disclosure an epidemi ological investigation was undertaken, one phase of which was an attempt to isolate yellow fever virus from localities in the edge of the presumably endemic zone.In attempting to isolate virus numerous persons were seen who were suffering either from an illness suggesting yellow fever, or from pyrexia of unknown cause. From many such persons blood was drawn, and as soon as possible thereafter the serum was in oculated intracerebrally2 into mice. Subinoculations were done from mice which became ill. In this manner several transmissible infective agents were isolated.The purpose of this paper is to report the isolation of one such agent, which we call the West Nile virus, and to describe some of its properties. Although this virus was isolated from the blood of a human being, the circumstances of its isolation were such that nothing is known regarding the illness produced by the virus in the human subject.An African woman, aged 37 year8, was seen by one of us (A. W. B.) in Uganda. This woman reported to the officersof the sleeping sickness survey and was not subjected to other examination than that which is usual in the routine of this survey, except that her temperature was taken. Her oral temperature was 100.6°F.She denied feeling ill, perhaps to avoid hospitalization. Nevertheless a sample of her blood was taken, and serum from it was inoculated intracerebrally into mice.The woman was not seen again until 3 months later, when another speci men of her blood was taken. At this time she denied that she had been ill at or near the time she was seen in December. She was not alto gether co-operative and it is possible that she withheld pertinent facts.Of the ten mice inoculated with the original blood serum of this woman, only one survived. The others became ill 6 to 8 days after inoculation and either died or were sacrificedfor subinoculations. The infectious agent was readily established in mice and was preserved for months in the frozen state. Subinoculations in series have been done by injecting each mouse intracerebrally with 0.03 cc. of the supernatant from a suspension of infected mouse brain in saline. The virus is now (September 15, 1939) in its 53rd passage, and there have been no sur vivors since the first mouse passage. FILTERABILITY OF THE AGENTIt was found early in these studies that the agent readily trav erses Berkefeld filters of V, N, and W grades and Seitz EK asbes tos pads. Mice invariably succumbed following intracerebral inoculation of filtrates of the supernatant from 10 per cent sus pensions of infected mouse brain. The following experiment shows that filtrates from Berkefeld V and N candles contain virus in high titre.Brains of ill mice of the 14th passage were ground in a mortar wi...

Con motivo de la celebración de los 25 años de Biomédica, el Comité Editorial desea rendir durante este año un homenaje a los investigadores colombianos que trabajaron en el Instituto Nacional de Salud e hicieron aportes destacados al conocimiento de las enfermedades infecciosas en Colombia.En esta ocasión queremos recordar el trabajo clásico del doctor Luis Patiño Camargo y colaboradores sobre la fiebre manchada de Tobia, publicado originalmente en 1937 en el American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene y reproducido en este número con la debida autorización.En palabras de sus autores: "El artículo tiene especial interés para los trabajadores de la salud pública en Colombia debido a que esta grave enfermedad ha pasado desapercibida hasta la fecha a pesar de su ocurrencia en lugares muy cercanos a Bogotá, a su carácter transmisible, a que presenta una tasa de letalidad mayor del 90% y tiene un carácter epidémico".Casi 70 años después, vemos que su afirmación original continúa siendo vigente.

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Although surgery is still considered the gold standard for the treatment of MIS, imiquimod may represent a potentially effective noninvasive treatment option for patient who are not surgical candidates.