Meningitis on the Navajo Reservation
An outbreak of meningitis on the Navajo Indian Reservation, which covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah, is reported in a recent issue of the Navajo Medical News, bulletin of the Indian Medical Service for this reservation. The report covered the area served by the Indian Hospital at Shiprock, N. M. In twenty-seven suspected cases, the diagnosis was positive in thirteen, presumptive in twelve and negative in two. Twenty-six cases occurred in Navajos. Several of the patients had died before the physicians were notified and the diagnosis was made from descriptions of the symptoms. Of the twenty patients who were hospitalized, nineteen were in Shiprock hospital. There were thirteen deaths: five in the Shiprock hospital; one in San Juan Hospital, Farmington, N. M., and seven outside of hospitals. Most of the patients were children, the average age being 11 1/2 years. A brief