organism. The Wayne ;County (Mich.) Health Department alerted the Detroit District Food and Drug Offic,e, on March 15, to a death believed to be due to botulism and to the hospitalization of a woman with symptoms of botulism. Epidemiologic investigation by two Food and Drug Administration inspectors revealed that on March 14, about 11 a.m., the decea,sed, Mrs. B; her hospitalized neighbor, Mrs. M, who subsequently died; and her mother, Mrs. K, who became ill, had luncheon at Mrs. B's home. The meal consisted of tuna fish salad sandwiches, vegetable soup, and coffee. Mrs. B had eaten a sandwich, soup, and coffee. Mrs. M ha,d only a sandwich and coffee. Mrs. K joined them a little later and ate the small portion of tuna salad that remained, as well as soup and coffee. Mrs. K stated later that the salad contained only two ingredients: canned tuna fish and salad dressing. Allegedly, while preparing the salad, Mrs. B had questioned the odor of the tuna, but Mrs. M was unable to detect an abnormal odor. Both had tasted the tuna and decided that it was "all right." While eating dinner at home, about 6 p.m., Mrs. B complained of blurred vision, and she repeatedly took off and put on her eyeglasses. At 7:30 she went to bed complaining of difficulty in breathing and a tightness in her throat, as well as the vision difficulty. The next morning, at 6:30, Mrs. B was suffering convulsive respiration and could speak only in a whisper. She was sent to the hospital in an ambulance, but she was dead on arrival at 7:30 a.m. Mrs. M became ill about 7:30 p.m. following the luncbeon. She complained of dizziness, blurred vision, and difficulty in breathing. Later her movements became somewhat uncoordinated and she vomited frequently during the night. Mrs. M was hospitalized at 8 a.m. and given polyvalent types A and B botulinus antitoxin. Her symptoms continued to progress. On the fourth day after the luncheon she was given type E botulinus antitoxin, but she did not improve. She died at 5 p.m. on March 19. Mrs. K suffered nausea and vomiting about 24 hours after eating the small portion of tuna salad, and she was hospitalized. She complained of a sore throat and she had some vision difficulties. Mrs. K was given 10,000 units of polyvalent types A and B botulinus antitoxin. She made a relatively rapid recovery, and she was released from the hospital 3 days later. The illness of the three women was diagnosed as botulism. They had eaten three items in common: coffee, bread, and tuna fish salad. About 5 percent of the dressing used in the salad was left in the 1-quart jar. Since a relatively small amount of salad dressing is needed for 61/2 ounces of tuna fish, the dressing presumably had been used previously without ill effects. Samples from the garbage can at Mrs. B's home were delivered to the laboratory on March 16. From the case investigation, it was known that the can had been emptied on the morning of the luncheon. The samples consisted of three newspaper-wrapped packages of miscellaneous garbage, two empty soup cans, and a tuna can The authors are bacteriologists with the Food and Drug Administration, Detroit, Mich.