ETHICALLY IMPOSSIBLE” STD Research in Guatemala from 1946-1948 
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Funes, J.M. (1949, enero). Avances venereologicos en la seccion correspondiente de la Direction General 
de Sanidad Publica de Guatemala. Boletin de la Oficina Sanitaria Panamericana 28(l):48-49. 
Aragon, H.A. (1948, October). Estudio de la sifilis y pruebas de la serologia en el Hospicio Nacional de 
Guatemala. Salubridad y Asistencia: 187-190. 
The investigators reported that this was funded in part by the PHS grant to PASB, RG-65/65(C). Funes, 
J.M., et al., op cit. 
John Cutler to Willard H. Wright. (1948, February 13). Correspondence. PCSBI HSPI Archives, 
CTLR 0001173; This data was later published in Wright, W.H., Dobrovolny, C.G. (1953). Experiments 
in the control of schistosomiasis in Brazil. Public Health Reports 68(12):1 156-1 160. Willard H. Wright 
to John Cutler. (1948, February 18). Correspondence. PCSBI HSPI Archives, CTLR 0001174. Dr. Funes 
similarly writes of sending blood samples from school-aged children from Puerto de San Jose to the 
Laboratory of Tropical Disease in the United States for further analysis of suspected malaria. Funes, J.M., 
et al. (1953). Estudios serologicos y clinicos con referenda a la sifilis en Guatemala, Centro America: II. 
Observaciones efectuadas en un grupo de ninos de Escuela en el Puerto de San Jose. Boletin de la Oficina 
Sanitaria Panamericana 34(1):15. In mid-1948, the government of Guatemala, in cooperation with the 
U.S. Public Health Service and the Pan American Sanitary Bureau, began a large-scale malaria study in 
various locations across Guatemala. Schmidt, L.H. and Coatney, G.R. (1955). Review of investigations 
in malaria chemotherapy (U.S.A. 1946 to 1954). American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 
4(2):208-216; Dobrovolny, C.G., et al. (1953). Chloroquine and chlorguanide as suppressants of malaria 
in Guatemala. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2(5): 808-845. Dr. Charles S. 
Dobrovolny, a parasitologist at the Tropical Disease Laboratory at NIH and a commissioned officer, 
was assigned to PASB for the malaria study in Guatemala. PASB Statement of Service in Kind. (n.d.). 
PCSBI HSPI Archives, PAH0 0000578; Wright, W.H., Dobrovolny, C.G., op cit. Dr. Dobrovolny and 
his supervisor in the malaria studies, Dr. Coatney, published a paper in 1953 detailing their malaria 
surveys and treatment studies across Guatemala. Dobrovolny, C.G., White, W.C., and Coatney, G.R. 
(1953). Chloroquine and chlorguanide as suppressants of malaria in Guatemala. American Journal of 
Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 808-845. Dr. Coatney was the same physician who had discussed his 
observations of the Guatemala experiments with Dr. Parran and who wrote to Dr. Cutler in the winter of 
1947 to inform him of Dr. Parran’s “merry” reaction as described in the section on “Race and Secrecy in 
the Guatemala Experiments: Issues of Secrecy.” G. Robert Coatney to John C. Cutler. (1947, February 17). 
Correspondence. PCSBI HSPI Archives, CTLR 0001051. 
John Cutler to John F. Mahoney (1947, June 6). Correspondence. PCSBI HSPI Archives, CTLR 0001070. 
Funes, J.M., et al., op cit. 
Ibid. There is no information indicating whether the children with confirmed syphilis were treated. 
[Unsigned] John Cutler to J. F. Mahoney. (1947, September 18). Correspondence. PCSBI HSPI Archives, 
CTLR_0001228. Completed research was published in 1953. Funes, J.M., Cutler, J.C., Levitan, S., Portnoy, 
J., Funes, R. Estudios serologicos y clinicos con referencia a la sifilis in Guatemala, Centro America: II. 
Observaciones efectuadas en un grupo de ninos de escuela en el Puerto de San Jose. Boletin de la Oficina 
Sanitaria Panamericana 14-18. 
There are conflicting data in some of the articles regarding how many children were involved from the 
Orphanage, as well as their ages. Stout et al. reported that 515 children were involved, confirmed by the 
report from the director of the Orphanage, ages 1 to 18 years. Dr. Levitan et al. reported that 438 children 
were involved, ages 6 to 16. The reason for the discrepancies is unclear. See Stout, G.W., op cit., p. 238; but 
see Levitan, S., et al., op cit., p. 379. In published reports, the Ministry of Public Health is credited with 
sponsoring the study which was also “aided by a grant from the United States Public Health Service to the 
Pan-American Sanitary Bureau.” Levitan, S. et al., op cit., p. 379. 
The Second Congress of Venereal Diseases in Central America, “an event that is singularly momentous 
for the country of Guatemala with regard to the fight against widely extended diseases,” ran from April 
26-May 1, 1948. [Translation]. (1948). Segundo Congreso de Venereologia el 25: Asistiran Observados de 
los Estados Unidos, Mexico y Cuba y Paises Centroamericanos. El Imparcial. April 5, 1948. The United 
States, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, and the republics of Central America were all participants. The organizing 
committee of the Second Congress included Drs. Galich, Funes, Aguilar, Tejeda, and Cutler. (1947). 
Guatemala sera sede del II Congress de Venereologia. El Imparcial. April 29, 1947. Dr. Arnold requested 
to Dr. Cutler that any papers the researchers wanted to present there be forwarded to VDRL Staten Island 
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