Food Poisoning Probably Caused by Bacillus Proteus

On Tuesday, Oct. 4, 1927, there occurred thirty-six cases of intestinal poisoning among the personnel of the Sigma Nu fraternity house at Colgate University, Hamilton, N. Y. On Saturday, October 1, chickens were purchased for the Sunday noon meal and were only partially consumed on Sunday. Those that remained were not used until Tuesday. As a result of local conditions and not the fault of the fraternity, the house was without ice from about Sunday noon until Monday night. On the morning of the 4th, the matron ate some of this left-over chicken and about one and a half hours later was taken with severe intestinal cramps and vomiting. The noonday meal on Tuesday was prepared by two of the members of the fraternity in her absence. They noticed a peculiar odor in the kitchen and one of them noticed that the chicken smelled as though it contained onion. This chicken