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The disease has not varied greatly in severity, the proportion of
severe cases has remained fairly constant between 5 and 10 per cent,
during the past five years.
In 1955 there were 102 cases (7 severe, 56 moderate and 39 mild)
including 1 adult. 32 were removed to hospital, The complications
recorded were Bronchitis 6, Lung Collapse 1, Otitis Media 2, Enteritis
1.
Measles
Measles still remains the commonest infectious disease of childhood
although it has for long now lost its terrors and no deaths have
occurred from it since the war. Generally speaking it has been mild,
though each year a few really severe cases have occurred and complications
have arisen in rather more instances but full recovery has been
the unbroken rule.
There has been very little evidence of periodicity in the
incidence and the numbers recorded in successive years from 1949 have
been 204, 298, 901, 488, 460, 309 and 547 in 1955. Of the latter 299
were seconded as moderately severe and 5 as severe: and the complications
as 7 with bronchitis, 3 with otitis media and 1 with encephalitis.
It was noted that those in the second quarter of the year
tended to be more severe than those at other times.
In most years there have been a few cases among adults but in
1954' there was only one and in 1955 none.
Hospital admission as a routine measure has not been employed and
has only been practiced where cogent social or medical need has arisen.
In 1955 92 were admitted for these reasons.
Scabies
The number of formal notifications of Scabies received during
1955 was 16 and in addition 23 cases came to the knowledge of the
department in other ways. For further comments see Section entitled
Verminous Persons.
Dysentery
Since the war dysentery has more or less continuously been a
cause of some concern and much time and effort has been absorbed in
efforts to control it. All the cases, however, except one isolated
case in 1949 of the Schmitz type have been of the Sonne type which is
generally mild. Outbreaks have occurred frequently in day nurseries,
sometimes in schools, and on one occasion in 1954 in the children's
ward of a hospital. The infection has spread widely in these institutions
and many cases were found with few or no symptoms but where
pathological examination demonstrated the presence of the causative
organism, which often proved difficult to eradicate. On the other