Search for Reiter's syndrome after an outbreak of Shigella sonnei dysentery.

Forty-seven % of 4,205 individuals living in a Puerto Rican community developed Shigella sonnei dysentery. Questionnaire and, where relevant, clinical evaluation of 1,970 patients and the remaining 2,235 unaffected residents disclosed no cases of Reiter's syndrome (RS). Among the possible explanations for failure to observe any cases is the important suggestion that S. sonnei is not arthritogenic.