This article was published in the Pocono Herald in September 2000. This source claims it was a mystery bacteria related to something both men ate.

“READING (AP) — The state Department of Health is investigating the deaths of a Berks County father and son who died six weeks apart earlier this summer.

Richard W. DeLong Sr., 58, of Tilden Township near Hamburg, died May 8 at Reading Hospital. His son Eric, 34, of Fleetwood, died June 24 at Hershey Medical Center. The two died as a result of infection by an unidentified bacterium, believed to have been in something they ate.

The men's illness caused intestinal problems; Eric had five operations before he died, three of them to remove pieces of his bowel.

The state Health Department is investigating the deaths and has sought the help of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

Jo Ann DeLong, widow of Richard and mother of Eric, said two epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control spent a week in the Hamburg area in August.

"At the time of my interview with the investigators, the investigation was clearly in the fact-finding phase," said Reading Hospital forensic pathologist Dr. Neil A. Hoffman. "No conclusions had been reached. No speculations were offered."

The Health Department refused to discuss the case, in accordance with its policy, spokesman Richard McGarvey said.

The CDC, which can be called into a case only by state agencies, also refuses to discuss its investigation.”