An unusual case—Chagas' disease, acquired in the laboratory and complicated and masked by infection with Neisseria perflava, a rare cause of septicemia—is described in the following report.
CASE HISTORY: A 22-year-old microbiologist was admitted to Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich, New York, in June 1961, with chills, fever, and fatigue of 4 days' duration. Diagnosis on admission was infectious mononucleosis.Two weeks before admission, the patient had felt irritable, tense, and tired. One week later, he had spilled a solution of virulent trypanosomes (Trypanosoma cruzi, Tulahuen strain) on his left hand, the ring finger of which had had a slight