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and. there were no deaths. Twenty-eight of these patients were treated
in hospital.
Erysipelas
Five cases were notified during the year; four were treated
at home, and one was admitted to hospital. There were no deaths.
Meningococcal Infection
Two cases of this disease were notified during the year and
were removed to hospital. The death of a child aged one year was
reported.
Malaria
One case of malaria was reported during the year, but investigations
showed that the patient had recently arrived from abroad, and
presumably had contracted infection overseas.
Poliomyelitis
Seven cases of acute poliomyelitis were notified and confirmed
during the year; six of the cases showed symptoms of paralysis.
There was no death from this disease during the year. The figures in
the last seven years are as follows:-
Year
Confirmed cases
Deaths
1955 30 Nil
1956 21 Nil
1957 15 1
1958 4 Nil
1959 8 Nil
1960 3 Nil
1961 7 Nil
There were four suspected cases removed to hospital, where
the diagnosis was not confirmed. Contacts of all cases were kept
under surveillance for twenty-one days (or until the diagnosis was
changed in unconfirmed cases). Kensington residents, who were
contacts of cases occurring outside the borough, were also kept under
observation.
Evidence that vaccination against poliomyelitis is effective
increases every year and a recent report by the World Health Organisation
Expert Committee states that "inactivated vaccines have proved to
be safe and effective." It is probably true to say that vaccination is
slowly and steadily reducing the number of cases all over the world.
However, there is no cause for complacency and every effort
must be taken to see that the level of protected persons in the borough
is raised as high as possible.
Acute Encephalitis
No case of acute encephalitis was notified during the year.
Measles
In my Annual Report for 1960, attention was drawn to the
biennial periodicity of measles. In 1959 seven hundred and thirtyseven
cases were notified and in 1960 four hundred and fifty-seven