THE 1964 OUTBREAK OF ST. LOUIS ENCEPHALITIS IN THE DELAWARE VALLEY

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Abstract
The first recorded outbreak of St. Louis encephalitis in the northeastern United States occurred in 1964 in the Delaware Valley during a summer marked by severe drought. The involved area consisted of the outer urban fringes and suburbs of metropolitan Philadelphia. One hundred seventeen patients with SLE were found during the summer and fall months, 97 in New Jersey and 20 in Pennsylvania. All the patients had serologic evidence of SLE infection and a clinical history compatible with a viral disease of the central nervous system. Two-thirds of the patients were over 45 and two-thirds were females. Two-thirds of the patients were clinically classified as encephalitis while the remainder had an aseptic meningitis-like syndrome. Eleven patients died as a direct consequence of their illness; all were over 60 years of age. There was marked sparing of the lower socioeconomic sections within the epidemic area, and only 4 cases were found among non-whites. The epidemic started early in August, peaked through September and ended in mid-October.

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