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dysentery appeared in homes even of the highest
hygienic standard. Investigation suggested that foods
not submitted to secondary heat treatment were to some
extent involved, and a circular was sent to food
retailers drawing attention to the need for the utmost
hygienic care in the exposure, handling and distribution
of foods. Direct personal contact with infected
persons was also a common source of infection. The
high infectivity and wide range of severity could be
demonstrated by cases with slight and transient
symptoms being followed by others of severe diarrhoea
with blood and mucus in the stools. The predominant
symptoms in a proportion of cases were sickness and
vomiting without diarrhoea, and the number of cases
showing the typical symptoms of dysentery was relatively
low.
The recurrence of this type of infection suggests that
persistent carriers exist and that those can only be
rendered innocuous by the maintenance of a very high
standard of personal and domestic hygiene, and of
hygienic food control by the food distributing trades,
both wholesale and retail.
Influenza.—The epidemic during the first quarter of
the year was generally of a mild type. Of the sixteen
deaths during the year, thirteen occurred in the
first quarter mainly from pulmonary infection in persons
over 60 years of age.
Non-Notifiable Diseases.—School teachers also
reported 143 cases of Chicken-pox, 21 of Whooping
Cough, 112 of Measles, 31 of German Measles and 36
of Mumps. School notifications formed the basis of
frequent consultations with the School Medical Officer.
There was no death from Measles and one death from
Whooping Cough due to pulmonary complications. An
arrangement has been made for the preparation of
serum from the blood of healthy parents of individual
children when requested by medical practitioners for
the prevention or attenuation of measles. Two such
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