HUMAN DISEASES IN EAST GERMANY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R015100400010-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 1, 2013
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: December 8, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
SECRET/CONTROL - U.S. OFFICIALS ONLY
SECURITY INFORMATION
INFORMATION REPORT REPORT
COUNTRY East Germany
SUBJECT EaM9.12 Diseases in East Germany
PATE OF
INFO.
PLACE
ACQUIRED
CD NO.
DATE DISTR. 8 December 1952
NO OF PAGES 5
NO.OFENCLS.1 (2 pages)
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT
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HIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFERS
OF THE UNITED STATES. WITHIN THE MEANINGOFTITLE 1B. SECTIONS 79
AND IGN, OF THE U.S. CODE, AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR REVE-
LATION OF ITS CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT BF AM UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS
PRONIDITED SY SAW.. THE REPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM IS PROHIBITED.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
kW.
.9$11.:Ettte--.Y
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contrax mast tzerman ministry or health (Berlin N40 heharnloretstrasee 36). It
is compulsory to report many of these diseases to the Ministry. In addition,
the higher staff of the Ministry frequently travels around East Germany on
inspection tours and also maintains correspondence with many ministerial and
academic institutes on health problems. In this way, the Ministry believes
itself to bevell -informed on rare diseasesian East Germany.
b. Loptcspirosis
Cases of this det'oconr in East Germany, particularly recently in plants handling
-fish. In July 19521 seven deaths from leptospirosis were reported to the Ministry
of Bealth.. 'Professor Johannes Hathe of Restock University has been particularly
interested in leptcapirosis and has a laboratory in the Eygiene Institute of the
? linitersity, at Gertrudenstrasse 9, for the study of leptospirosis. In May 1952,
he wrote a long report to the Ministry of Health on his work on leptospirosis (See
Appendix).
to. Encephalitis
Caios have oactnmed in East Germany every month from January to June of 1952, as
the foliating table showst
_ .
Cises of encephalitis in East Germany (East Berlin and teenier), 1952
.
Ne, cases reported 'Deaths
5
January
Eebrwary
March
2
10
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STATE
NAVY
NS RB
DISTRIBUTION
ARMY
Al 11
x
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- 2 -
Month
New oases reported
Deaths
April
7
3
'
MaY
6
3
JUne
4
1
July
1.
-
d. Endemic hepatitis
In early September 1952, the Ministry of Health was investigating an
outbreak of epidemic hepatitis in Johanngeorgenstadt. The first reports
(Which reached the SCC in'Berlin-Karlshorst as well as the Ministry) were
of an outbreak of typhoid. It was quickly discovered that the early
diagnosis was wrong-and that it was an outbreak of hepatitis. In late
August, there were about 50 oases in Johamageorgenstadt and the number
was increasing.
e. Anthrax
Cases of this disease are practically unknown in East Germany. The last out.
S' Oossnedin 1948 in the firm of Mid Serum Werk, Dessau, was a
criminal case, in which the :veterinarian there poisoned his wife.
f. Miscellaneous diseases
(1). Histofilasmosis, psittaoosis and plague (VPeet' in German). These
ares-tb all intents and purposes, unknown in East Germany. It is
not impossible that once every few years a case may be imported,
but it is not known except for this.
Cholera. Unknown. There has not been a single case for many years.
Brucellosis. In early September 1952, the Ministry did not know of a
single case in East Germany. Cases do occur, but are very rare.
(4). Q fever. No oases are at the moment known to the Ministry, which,
however, recognizes the possibility of its existence sinoe illness is
usually very slight and it is often not properly recognized and
reported.
2. Common diseases
a. Below in paragraph d are the statistics (totals only) recorded in the secret
files of the central Ministry of Health for the more common human diseases,
for July 1952. The statistics came to the Ministry as usual through the
Lan&ministries0 It should be remembered that towards the end of July 1952
the dissolution of the Land ministries was announced and the formation of
Bezirk governments was in progress so there was considerable disorganization
In the East German administration.
b. The central Ministry helimmd that the figures reported for deaths from polio-
myelitis were correct. For new oases, however, there was probably some
failure by individual doctors to report light infections; many of the cases
were very light.
o. It Tanis reported to the Ministry that there were more widespread outbreaks of
poliomyelitis in the southern part of East Germany in August.
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3
d. StatistiCS-Of.raportable diseases for July 19521: Five Leander and
East Berlin combined
New cases in
the month
Deaths
Typhoid
271
26
Paratyphoid
165
1
Dysentery
79
1
Diphtheria
1,091
8
Scarlet fever
3,789
2
Poliomyelitis
28
1
Bacteriological food poisoning
1,759
12
Pulmonary TB
2,693
504
Cutaneous TB.,_
69
1
TB - other organs
614
49 ?
Tubercular meningitis
13
7
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/07/01 : CIA-RDP82-00457R015100400010-6
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Appendix
A'brief sUmmary of Professor Dr. Johannes Kathets work on Ments disease in the
food industry.
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Professor Dr. Johannes Kathe, director of the University of Rostockls Hygiene
Instctute (Rostock, Gertrudenstrasse 9), made a report to the East German Ministry
of Health on 6 Mhy 1952 on his work on lents disease. The following paragraphs
are.a brief summary of his report.
1. In connection with his leptospirosis laboratory, Professor Kathe and his co-
workers made an investigation, from November 1951 to early 1952, of cases of
Well's disease in certain places handling food. These places were:
a. the fish preparation factory in Sohwaan, Kreisuestrow
b. the fish preparation factory in Marienehe bei Rostocik
0. the Rostook slaughterhouse.
2. The investigation started when a doctor, suspecting Vents disease among the
workeri of the Sohwaan factory, sent Professor Kathe a blood specimen in June 1951.
This specimen was serologically confirmed to come from a patient having Well's
dilease. This led to the testingof samplesof blood from other Sohwaan workers
and finally to the systematic work starting in November 1951.
3. s. FroM-5-to 10 c6 specimensof bloodisera were prepared. These were tested
against six loptospira strains: two L. grippotyphosa strains and one strain
eaoh-of L. ioterohaemorrhagiae ioterog. (Wail), L. pomona, L. batavia and
.0anioolas
b. Taking agglutination lysin titers of 1,100 and 11200 as "doubtful" and
1,400 or more as "positive" for a leptoepira infection, the investigators found
17 more oases of infection, among 300 workers in the factory, than the 7 oases
diagnosed by the doctor,
e. Weills disease is spread by rats and the heavy Leptospira infections of the
epithelia of the tubuli oontorti of Rostock rat kidneys was noted by the
investigators. (Levaditits silver staining method). There was a plague of
rite in the factory and town of Selman in 1961 which Professor Rothe
associated with the fish waste products eoattered around.
4. As a control, the blood of 106 inhabitants of the area, sent for Wasiermann
reaotion tests (ffa.R.) was tested for Weille leptospira. One sample no positive
(1:400 plus), that is o. 1 percent. Rath. noted, "That is a high percentage,
certainly connected with the heavy rat infestation of our country." Professor
Rothe next expressed his view that the official statistics in this field are
unreliable.,
6. Investigation of the Marienehe factory showed 3 out of 106 workers to have Wattle
disease.
6. The Rostook slaughterhouse was found to have 8 oases among 77 workers.
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- 2 - Appendix
7. Summary of oases in the three places
Place No. examined
Weil -positive
Actual Percentage
Schmaan fish factory
ZOO
24 8
Marienehe fish factory
105
3
3
'Rostock slaughterhouse
77
8
10
control
105
1
1
Totals s
587
36
Only 8 of the 36 oases of Well's disease had been suspected by the general
practitioners oonoerned. This was not surprising, said Professor Kathe, when.
one considered haw inadequate was the instruction of medical students on
infeotious disease oases. "When I recently examined a group of five candidates,
I discovered that not a single one of them had seen a typhoid patient.' Professor
Kathe admitted, however, that Well's disease was not always easy to diagnose.
8. Conolusions
a. Weil's disease was responsible for loss of production in some parts of the
food indhstry. Patients might be away from work for four to eight weeks and
many of them for even longer.
b. This. should be combatted by training doctors to recognize forum of lepto-
Spirosio earliers by extending the use of automatic equipment in the
fish factories, because the knives wielded by the fisherwomen were
reSponSible for many skin abrasions, which facilitated the entry of the
leptospiras and by exterminating the rats, preferably by introducing oaCP
o. Profeesor Kathe oould not agree that for an
assumption of a traumatic leptospira infection, proof of small cracks and
abrasions-on hands or feet was not enough. Kathe believed that open wounds
were not essential for the entry of Leptospira. Be did agree
however, that between entry ("Unfallereignia") and outbreak of il1nese5trre
was an incubation period of two to twenty days.
d. Professor Kathe finally mentioned the social workmen's oompensation aspeot
of the matter, baying that Weill? disease should be treated as a scheduled
disease for compensation purposes.
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