Eaton Agent Pneumonia
- Robert M. Chanock, M.D.;
- Lieut. Maurice A. Mufson, MC;
- Lieut. Henry H. Bloom, MSC;
- Walter D. James;
- Hernon H. Fox, B.S.;
- Capt. James R. Kingston, MC
- Bethesda, Md.; U. S. Naval Reserve, Parris Island, S. C.; U. S. Navy, Camp Lejeune, N. C.; Bethesda, Md.; U. S. Navy, Washington, D. C.
- Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases (Doctor Chanock, Messrs. James, and Fox); Medical Department, United States Marine Corps Recruit Depot (Lieut. Mufson); Naval Medical Field Research Laboratory (Lieut. Bloom); and Head of General Medicine and Surgery Branch, Research Division, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Department of the Navy (Capt. Kingston).
Abstract
The ecology of infection with Eaton agent was studied at a Marine training center using the fluorescent antibody technique. The serologic findings supported the contention that this filterable agent was associated with atypical pneumonia. Infection was detected significantly more frequently among recruits with pneumonia or febrile respiratory disease than in a control group of persons free of respiratory symptoms. One hundred and sixty-one of patients with pneumonia were serologically positive, and Eaton agent was recovered in tissue culture from 14 to 17 such recruits. Approximately 44 per cent of recruits were infected at some time during their 3-month training period. Only 1 in 30 such infections was manifest as a clinically diagnosed pneumonia. The data suggested that Eaton agent was not highly communicable, an attribute which favored its persistence in the recruit population.
