The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 1

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1977 VOLUME 45, NUMBER 13 FIFTEEN CENTS Scientific Sleuths Isolate Legion Disease Bacteria and federal scientists. Theories ranged from swine flu to poisonous metals to parrot fever even sabotage was considered. The scientists started at the beginning with blood and tissue samples from the dead and the sick. The blood samples showed high levels of antibodies. "We originally incubated autopsy materials in guinea pigs, and we got fever, which is a pretty good indication of bacterial infection," said Dr.

Joseph McDade, a research microbiologist with the national Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. solve the mystery, but it does give researchers something to look for. The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta said it will continue testing the 151 persons who recovered and will return to Philadelphia's Bellevue-Stratford Hotel to try to determine how the organism might have grown and been transmitted. Most victims had attended the Pennsylvania American Legion convention headquartered at the now-closed Bellevue. All died from an upper respiratory infection similar to pneumonia.

The disease baffled citv, state By WILLIAM E.SCHULZ ATLANTA (AP) It took thousands of tests, dozens of researchers and scores of chicken eggs to find the still-unnamed killer that claimed 29 lives in Philadelphia last summer. Almost six months after reports of mysterious deaths started trickling to increasingly alarmed Pennsylvania officials, sleuthing scientists declared yesterday that the cause of Legionnaires' disease was a bacteria-like organism never before isolated. Isolating the organism does not ism was the one the victims' bodies were fighting off. Then researchers found in their serum bank blood samples from a 16 pneumonia outbreak at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington C.

in which eight of 62 persons affected died. The new organism produced a reaction from antibodies in 13 of the 14 samples available, showing scientists what had killed those victims. But what was it? Did it kill all The tests were run and rerun. Then, during another routine rickettsia test over the Christmas holidays, McDade found something different growing in the yoke sac of one of the eggs. Most bacteria can be grown easily, but researchers found this organism very difficult to grow in an artificial medium.

Researchers eventually succeeded, and blood serum from 33 "typical survivors" of Legionnaires' disease was tested on the organisms. Antibodies in the blood reacted in 29 cases. That meant the organ Known bacteria didn't react to the antibodies, so they were ruled out as the killers. Searching for an answer among rickettsia one-celled organisms smaller than bacteria McDade again inoculated guinea pigs with tissue material from victims' lungs. The animals became ill.

McDade then injected chicken eggs with tissue from the sick guinea pigs and, sure enough, the embryos died. He found bacteria in the eggs, but so few that they had to be a contaminant, not a thriving group of organisms that killed, he thought. evere Tests Face Pont as He Begins Term as Governor v-: WJ is' More pictures on Vnge il his message to the public through frequent press conferences and increased use of the major television stations in Philadelphia and Baltimore. There was only a minor political undercurrent through the day of bipartisan inaugural festivities. Du Pont took his oath from Chief Justice Daniel L.

Herrmann. James D. McGinnes, a Democrat, was sworn in as lieutenant governor by Family Court Judge David P. Burkson, an old friend. Du Pont, McCinnis and their wives greeted the public at an afternoon reception in the chilly old State House and later shared the head table at a dinner in the Dover Armory.

The celebration ended with an inaugural ball at Delaware State College last night. The outgoing governor and lieutenant governor, Democrat Sherman W. Tribbitt and Republican Eugene D. Bookhammer, were relaxed and in good spirts as they joined in the ceremonies. i ii IiiiimI -liim on (lit-liiHloric l)'liiHare Juslice Daniel Itililc.

Picrrr S. iln Pont IV in ulminit-r'l IihiLh on. tin- oulli of offiri" ly SupreiiM' (lourl C.hi-f Ice a Disaster for and Their Prey The indoor events were well attended, but the crowd was sparse at the swearing-in, held outdoors at noontime. Some of the guests retreated to watch the ceremony from the windows of buildings at the edge of Dover's Green. The tone of Du Pont's inaugural address matched the weather crisp and clear.

The finances of the state "border on bankruptcy," and it will take discipline on the part of citizens and politicians to set them straight he said. Even so, Du Pont found a silver lining. Careful pruning, he said will lead to "a new prosperity" based on economic growth and "unencumbered by the luxury of nonessential services or the deadweight of nonproductive bureaucracy." Du Pont wrote the speech with Glenn C. Kenton, his new secretary of state and longtime aide, and Douglas Bailey, a political consultant who has worked on Du Pont's campaigns. A few hours after being sworn in, Du Pont signed an executive See DU PONT-Page8, Col.l vessels venture into these areas.

For some watermen, who rely heavily on winter crabbing, a prolonged freeze may spell economic disaster. "It could be critical," Hand said. "A lot of these fellows have (boat) payments to make." The frigid temperatures are hard on the crabs, too. Watermen and environmentalists say a severe freeze can cut off oxygen in the water, killing large numbers of mud-dwelling shellfish. "With their slow metabolism, you wouldn't think they need that much oxygen," Howard Seymour, a marine extention agent, said.

"But I've seen massive die-offs (after a freeze). Ice gets on top of the water and they suffer from a lack of oxygen." Darrell E. Louder, director of fish and wildlife, said arctic weather has stymied the blue crab and oyster industry from Chesapeake Bay to the Carolinas. Area restaurants say they are already out of local crabs. Sambo's, popular Leipsic seafood restaurant, has been closed for the month of January due to the crab crunch.

At Crabs-a-Plenty in Woodside, chef Wayne Johnson says he hasn't seen a local crab in weeks. JOURNAL INDEX Arts 51-53 Bridge 56 Business 20-21 Comics 56 Date book 46 Deaths 57 Editorials 30 Food 34 People 35 Record 43,47 Sports 22-29 Television 50 WEATHER TONIGHT: Clear and cold, low around 10. TOMORROW: Increasing cloudiness, high around 30. MMMkwt iiwl mM'iVk Htm HUm Malt PtMU hy Juki luanui L. Herrmann us Mrs.

du Font of Dover is 90 per cent "fast" ice, meaning it either is attached to the shore or bottom, sometimes six inches thick. Below Dover, toward the mouth Vsilliw llmi.l Sr. unil hi Cairo, Alexandria and Suez City at the southern end of the Suez Canal as rioting and clashes raged across the city for the second day. Public transport came to a standstill, shops and factories were closed and government employes stayed home. Cairo Radio said the curfew would go into effect at 4 p.m.

and would last until 6 a.m. tomorrow. It was Egypt's first curfew since the 1952 revolution that overthrew the monarchy. The broadcast said police had been ordered to shoot curfew violators. An announcement said the government acted "at the request of Prime Minister Mamdouh Salem and thp approval of President Anwar Sadat to suspend the latest price regulations." 1 By RALPH S.MOYED Pierre Samuel du Pont IV, the Harvard-educated lawyer who turned from chemicals to politics with easy success, faced his most severe testing yesterday as he assumed office as governor of Delaware.

While Du Pont was taking his oath in the bone-chilling cold outside the old State House in Dover, Delaware's government already was heading toward record deficits that could require severe cutbacks in state services as well as major new tax burdens. The new governor, a Republican, would have to get his programs through a legislature controlled by opposition Democrats. The fencing began even before the swearing-in ceremonies. Du Pont told reporters he believes he and the Democrats in the General Assembly are starting off in a spirit of cooperation but he gave some hint of what he might do in the face of an intractable legislature. "I'm prepared to use all the tools," he said.

Du Pont said he intends to get Crabbers of the bav. the Coast Guard said there was a 75 per cent covering of "field ice, large chunks up to 50 yards across. Congesting most of the shipping worklKmt. Naiiiii. urr Itolh Iih It added Salem's ruling Center party, which overwhelmingly dominates the 360-member parliament with 305 seats, would meet in the afternoon to review events.

Parliament's economic committee will meet tomorrow for the same purpose. The government blamed the rioting on Communist agitators. "We are dying of hunger anyway so kill us, Sadat, with your bullets!" the crowds chanted. But Sadat was holidaying at Aswan, 600 miles to the south, awaiting the arrival of Yugoslav President Tito for a visit tomorrow. One detachment of riot police opened fire as it battled a crowd near Al Azhar University, in the fify'5 nj oitartor A JO-veir-ftM SeeEGYPT-Page 2, Col.

5 By ARTHUR HOWE Dm or Bureau DOVER "This ice is damn tough, I'll tell ya," said waterman Willis Hand, easing himself over the side of his boat and walking out on ice-choked Port Mahon harbor. "But you really can't blame nature for freezing us up," he added philosophically. "It was nature that gave us the crabs to start with." For the last 11 days, Hand's 60-foot workboat has been tied to the dock. The coldest winter on record has frozen the Delaware crabbing industry. In most cases, ice in harbors and inlets has prevented fishermen from leaving port.

But even if they are lucky enough to break away, shellfishing is virtually impossible because the bay is clogged with treacherous, floating islands of ice. "The whole bay is probably covered with ice," the 44-year-old Hand said. Last Wednesday he and his crew tried dredging for crabs but were quickly driven back to port by the ice. "We're just going to have to wait," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't well into February before this ice breaks up." In Cape May, N.J., the U.S.

Coast Guard reported yesterday, the Delaware River and Bay south I i i i i i 'w- i Warmup May Bring More Snow By RAY GOLDBACHER and SHALTC D.MULLEN Although temperatures may be edging up, ever so slightly, Mother Nature's just setting us up for some snow, according to the National Weather Service. Yet another snowstorm is possible Friday or over the weekend as Delaware continues to suffer through the coldest, most bitter winter in years. Forecasters said a storm system pushing east from the Dakotas could add to the froen remains of three post-Christ mas snows if present weather patterns hold. In the face of continuing unseasonably cold weather. Delaware's two natural gas companies yesterday asked residential customers to conserve gas to help avoid cutbacks to industry, and possible plant shutdowns.

E. C. Burton president of Chesapeake Utilities appealed to residential gas users to turn down thermostats, lower the temperature on their hot water heaters, shut off front yard gas lights and avoid using ovens for supplementary heat. A Del-marva Power Light Co. spokesman concurred.

Gas supplies are still holding, but the question is for how long. Four major oil distributors in Philadelphia are running low on fuel because of a faulty drawbridge that has slowed barge traffic on the Schuylkill River. The distributors supply between one-fourth and one-third of the heating oil used by schools, hospitals and homes in the five-county Philadelphia area. Each of the four distributors has only about three days supply of oil left, a spokesman for the companies said yesterday. Philadelphia's highway division said the bridge SeeWARMVP-PageJ.

Col.l lanes, they said, are "flow and pancake" ice blotches, from one to 10 yards wide The Coast Guard advised that only high-powered, ocean-going SUt PM Krvte rWalM k-l in at frigid Port Malum. IN TODAY If the General Assembly approves the "intermediate school author ity" proposed by the desegregation board. New Castle County residents will have some breathing space while court appeals grind on. Page 12 Carter-designated cabinet members try to placate about 125 mayors who think they're being short-changed. Wilmington's William T.

McLaughlin finds the proposals "encouraging." Page 16 Cancer scientists say the Food and Drug Administration is killing their patients by refusing permission to use experimental drugs. Page 39 Two physicians call on states to pass laws recognizing brain death so badly needed organs will be available for transplant. PageM Snihit Revokes Higher Food Prices Riots Bring Cairo to Standstill CAIRO (AP) Egyptian President Anwar Sadat revoked price increases on food, gas and cigarettes today after riots in which witnesses said police fire killed eight persons. Associated Press newsman Sami Rizkallah said witnesses outside a police station that was set afire in Hadaik el Kouba east of Cairo told him seven persons were killed when police fired into crowds. Rizkallah said he saw at least 14 wounded demonstrators being taken to hospitals.

A detachment of riot police also opened fire as it battled a crowd near Al Azhar University, in the city's old quarter. Witnesses said a 10-year-old boy fell dead with a bullet in his chest. The Egyptian government ordered a 14-hour curfew for.