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INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Diphtheria
The continued occurrence of outbreaks of diphtheria
in London and other parts of the Country is disturbing.
Between 1943 and 1957 the number of notifications in England
and Wales diminished each year, but in 1958 there was a
sharp increase and there were eight diphtheria deaths.
Camberwell was free from diphtheria from 1948 to 1959,
but from November of that year until early in February 1960,
six cases were reported, all in non-immunised children
and 70 others were found to be harbouring the organism.
The outbreak was confined to one corner of the Borough
and was linked with a primary school.
There were no further cases until the 19th December,
1960, when a child aged 7 years, living in another part
of the Borough about away and attending a different
primary school, was notified. Hie child had been ill for
five days and went to school on the second day of her illness
before being sent to a children's hospital where the disease
was diagnosed. The school closed for the Christmas holidays
on the 21st December, and all the school contacts therefore
had to be visited and swabbed at their homes. Within a few
days several more cases occurred and other children were
found to be harbouring the diphtheria organism. All were
at once removed to hospital.
This outbreak continued into the New Year and in all
13 children, one of whom unfortunately died, and 25 'carriers'
were hospitalised before it was brought under control. In
four instances 'carriers' again produced positive swabs a
few days after discharge from hospital; these were readmitted
for further treatment. It was necessary to remove
one of these children to hospital four times and another
three times. A chronological table of cases and 'carriers'
appears on page 23.
It does not appear that this outbreak was in any way
connected with the previous one. The causative organism
in both was of the same type, but the cases in the later
outbreak tended to be more severe, many of them presenting
the classical signs and symptoms, which fortunately are
seldom seen today.
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