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- 72 -
The first case of typhoid fever was a 40-year old doctor
who was ill immediately after returning from a holiday in Sicily
and was admitted to hospital. All contacts submitted specimens for
bacteriological examination. All proved negative. The patient
recovered in hospital but was discharged as a confirmed carrier.
Specimens examined at monthly intervals remained positive until he
left the borough some nine months later. A complete case history
was forwarded to the Medical Officer of Health of his new district.
The second case was an adult female nurse who came from
New Zealand, who was ill for a week before being admitted to hospital
on 17th June. The patient came to this country from Holland
on l6th May and stayed in the borough for eleven days before proceeding
to Taunton where she stayed until 2nd June, then returning
to Kensington. Taking into account the normal period of incubation,
onset could have been during the period at Taunton and the local
Medical Officer of Health was notified. The patient shared a
maisonnette with eleven other girls, all of whom submitted specimens
at weekly intervals for three weeks - all remained well.
The remaining cases were involved in the typhoid outbreak
at Zermatt, Switzerland. Although four cases were traced in the
borough, only three were officially notified as Kensington cases
a child aged 4, a female aged 23, and a male aged 29• The fourth,
a female nurse, was notified to a neighbouring borough.
Following the publicity in the national press, 23 residents
who had been at Zermatt contacted this department for advice, and were
requested to submit specimens for bacteriological examination at
weekly intervals for three weeks.
At the request of the Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry
of Health, selected catering establishments were asked to notify me
if any employee engaged in food handling had been on holiday in
Zermatt in order that bacteriological investigation could be arranged.
There was no case reported.
Daily observation was kept on contacts of two confirmed
cases; and the number of specimens submitted for bacteriological
examination was 253•
Puerperal Pyrexia
During 1963, the number of cases of this disease notified
was 74, of whom 57 were persons normally resident outside Kensington.
All cases occurred in hospital.
In order to show some perspective in reviewing the incidence
of puerperal pyrexia (defined as any febrile condition occurring in a
woman in whom a temperature of 100.4°F. or more has occurred within
fourteen days after childbirth or miscarriage), the following table
gives an analysis of the causes of pyrexia in the notified cases:-
Cause
No. of
cases
Breast infections 9
Urinary infections 2
Measles 1
Genital tract infections 2
Post operative 7
Causes unknown after investigation 43
Total: 74