EV TRADITIONAL WORLDWIDE HEALTH SCIENCES FUND, INC.
SUPPLEMENT TO PROSPECTUS DATED FEBRUARY 1, 1997
Effective September 1, 1997, EV Traditional Worldwide Health Sciences
Fund, Inc. (the "Fund"), subject to shareholder approval, will be reorganized
from a Maryland corporation to Class A shares of a series fund (named Eaton
Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund) of Eaton Vance Growth Trust, a business
trust organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is
anticipated that this restructuring will reduce Fund operating expenses, thereby
enhancing long-term returns and improving operational flexibility. The
conversion to the multiple-class structure will not be a taxable transaction,
change the value or cost basis of existing shareholders' investments, or change
fund net asset values per share. Likewise, the conversion will not materially
change shareholder voting rights. It is possible that some shareholders could,
in the future, receive different distributions of realized capital gains than
would be the case if the restructuring did not occur. This result could occur
because allocation of the Worldwide Health Sciences Portfolio's current
unrealized capital gains will be different under multiple-class accounting rules
than has been the case under the partnership accounting rules of the current
structure. The actual realization of capital gains in the future remains
uncertain and depends not only on the investment adviser's decisions but also on
the fluctuating market valuation of specific securities. Because capital gains
distributions reduce the net asset value of a fund's shares, the effect of such
a distribution change is to alter current tax obligations and tax obligations
upon redemption (by the same amount).
July 31, 1997 T-HS9/1PS
