MYSTERIOUS DISEASE TAKES LIVES OF FIFTY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18960, 6 January 1930, Page 14

MYSTERIOUS DISEASE TAKES LIVES OF FIFTY.

(United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) BERLIN, January 4. The doctors admit that they are baffled by the epidemic among the refugees from Russia now encamped at Ilammerstein. Fifty-two children under the age of four years have already died, and forty are dangerously ill. The illness takes the form of a sudden fever with inflammation of the lungs. It proves fatal in a few hours. The malady is believed to be due to a rare streptococcus germ. The whole of the children have been inoculated and the camp is strictly isolated. One of the difficulties is that the Mennonite refugees are similar to Christian Scientists, who place more faith in prayer than in doctors. Most of the victims were weakened by a recent attack of measles. A message on Saturday said that a mysterious epidemic had broken out amongst the 1500 children of the Mennonites, who are encamped at Hammerstein, in Pomerania. The disease at first was thought to be measles. The Mennonites are the descendants of German peasnts who settled in Russia 200 years ago. Becoming dissatisfied with the conditions under the Bolshevik regime, they started to return to Germany, but were segregated near Moscow pending the finalisation of arra ngemen ts.