9 
first publication in this country in which the attack of this mite has 
been followed up and its dermatological effect on human beings care- 
fully studied and described. This paper of Doctors Goldberger and 
Schamberg may be briefly summarized as follows: 
In the spring and summer of 1909 this peculiar eruptive disease be- 
came quite prevalent in Philadelphia and neighboring towns. An out- 
break among 20 sailors upon a private yacht docked in the Delaware 
River attracted the attention of both the city and the federal health 
authorities. The Sur- 
geon-General of the 
United States Public 
Health and Marine- 
Hospital Service dele- 
gated Dr. Joseph 
Goldberger, passed as- 
sistantsurgeon, to pro- 
ceed to Philadelphia 
for the purpose of 
making an investiga- 
tion of the disease. 
Afterexamining the 
20 sailors, who had 
been sent to a hos- 
pital, Doctors Gold- 
berger and Schamberg 
visited the yacht 
whence they came and 
made a searching ex- 
amination of the con- 
ditions on board. 
Their attention was 
directed to the fact 
that a number of new Fic. 5.—Lesions caused by bites of the mite Pediculoides ventricosus. 
straw mattresses had In this case the eruptions are almost the reverse of those shown in 
3 figure 4. They are much smaller, more densely placed, and confined 
been received and that more to the lower portion of the back, there still being very few on 
the disease was con- _ ¢ither neck or arms. 
fined to those who had slept upon these mattresses or had placed their 
clothes upon them. Eleven officers and members of the crew who did 
not sleep upon the new mattresses remained entirely free of the disease. 
At about the same period information was received concerning an 
eruptive disease prevailing among the sailors of four other boats, 
plying along the Delaware River. Investigation disclosed the fact 
that these boats had also received new straw mattresses, and, further- 
more, that only those were attacked who slept upon the mattresses 
or otherwise came in contact with them. 
[Cir. 118] 
