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* 1 now left district
It can be seen from these figures that of 40 confirmed cases of paralytic
poliomyelitis occurring during the past 9 years, 25 have made a complete recovery
with full power and normal movement of all muscles.
The scheme for inoculation of children against poliomyelitis inaugurated
by Middlesex County Health Department in 1956, was expanded considerably during
1957 during which year 1,317 completed a course of vaccination. erreceived
two injections at an interval of 3 weeks. 190 had received two injections
during the previous year, making a total of 1,507 inoculated by the end of 1957.
As the incidence of poliomyelitis has been so very small in this borough,
it is likely to be many years before it can be fairly decided that vaccination
has been of value, though it may be possible to prove something on the national
figures in a shorter space of time. Another thing to be discovered is the length
of time which immunity lasts, if in fact immunity has been created. When and
if cases of poliomyelitis occur, it will be important to ascertain whether and
when any immunisation was carried out.
Puerperal Pyrexia
Although the number of notifications of Puerperal Pyrexia was high i.e.
82 as compared with 97 in the previous year, this is not an alarming figure,
but really an indication that more satisfactory notification is being carried
out, since it is not unusual for slight rises of temperature to occur in the
early days after confinement, and these are statutorily notifiable to the Medical
Officer of Health, though not always notified.
The majority of the notifications were from Chiswick Maternity Hospital
the staff of which had become very alive to the importance of this matter following
an outbreak of real infection-vwith Group A Streptococcus in 1956. There
was no incident of this nature in 1957.
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