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Single cases
In addition to the outbreaks referred to above, there were
thirty single cases of food poisoning notified. In eighteen of these,
no causative agent was identified, but in the remaining twelve cases, the
identified agents were as follows :-
Agent Cases
Salmonella typhi-murium 7
Salmonella newport 1
Salmonella enteriditis 1
Salmonella anatum 1
Salmonella mikawasima 1
Salmonella montevideo 1
INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Smallpox
No case of smallpox was notified in the borough during the
year 1956.
In the Ministry of Health's Memorandum on Vaccination against
smallpox, it is recommended that public health officers, likely to have to
deal with cases of smallpox at short notice, should be regularly revaccinated
at not more than yearly intervals. During the year thirty
members of the staff of the public health department were vaccinated or
re-vaccinated by the Medical Officer of Health.
Scarlet fever
The number of cases notified in 1956 was forty-five and, of
this total, fifteen were treated in hospital. There was no fatal
case during the year; in fact, there has been no death from scarlet
fever in Kensington since 1940.
Diphtheria
One case of diphtheria was notified during the year.
The patient, a boy aged 7 years, was admitted to hospital as
a case of whooping cough. A routine throat swab taken there showed
C. diphtheriae (gravis type). The case was notified as a "carrier"
presumably because clinical support for a diagnosis as a diphtheria
sufferer was inadequate.
It is believed that the bacteriology in this case was atypical
in that the strain may have been a non-starch fermenter. Recently other
cases with similar bacteriology have been reported elsewhere and there
is some doubt as to their validity as true diphtheria cases. As far as
this child was concerned, the contacts remained well.
It was ascertained that the boy had been immunised three years
prior to his admission to hospital, and the attention of the London
County Council was drawn to this, and the details were reported to the
Ministry of Health.
Diphtheria immunisation work, commenced by the Council in 1934,
was continued by the London County Council during the year. A summary
of the work carried out in Kensington is as follows:-