'DEVIL's GRIP', EPIDEMIC IN VIRGINIA, IS NOT FEARED IN D.C. BY HEALTH OFFICIAL
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On August 9, 1923, The Evening Star reports "an outbreak of the 'Devil's grip'* isn't feared by District Health Officer William C. Fowler who has just returned from Richmond where he conferred with "the leading medical authorities of Virginia."
The strange disease, which has health officials "baffled" as to its origin and method of communication, is an epidemic in Virginia with 300 cases reported, most near Fredericksburg.
*Devil's grip, a.k.a. Bambie disease, is an uncommon cause of chest pain, a grip of dry pleurisy caused by acute inflamtion with covsackie virus.
SOURCE
"Thinks D.C. Safe From 'Devil's Grip'," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., August 9, 1923, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
