THE SPREAD OF RHEUMATIC FEVER THROUGH FAMILIES

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Abstract
Study of 15 families suggests that an infection is involved, in which the role of environment and hereditary predisposition are unknown. The sudden appearance of apparently primary and secondary outbursts in certain individuals was frequently accompanied by recognizable forms of the disease in other members of the family group, and not infrequently by the simultaneous appearance of non-specific illnesses, e.g., bronchitis, bronchopneumonia, skin rashes and rheumatoid arthritis. Not only do several cases seem to be initiated simultaneously, but periods of recurrent activity of the disease seem to sweep through a family in synchronous waves, during which time new cases may also appear.

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