IN 1939, an outbreak of infection with Salmonella panama was reported in a group of newborn infants in a hospital nursery.1 The source of the infection was traced to a nurse who had cared for the babies. In agreement with the observations of Schiff,2 the severity of the disease and the many complications caused by the panama variety of Salmonella pathogens were stressed. Differentiation of Salmonella infection of the newborn from epidemic diarrhea of the newborn was also considered.3 In addition, attention was called to the variability in symptomatology, clinical course and complications induced by organisms of the Salmonella group. This problem subsequently was discussed further by Seligmann and Hertz.4
The diversity in the clinical picture of Salmonella infections in the newborn again is shown by the three related outbreaks of infection with Salmonella typhimurium now reported. These outbreaks illustrate the importance of making early diagnostic