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106
Ophthalmia Neonatorum.—For the second successive year
no notifications of this disease were received.
Meningococcal Infection.—Diagnoses of two of the 5
notifications received were not upheld, giving a final total of 3.
There were 3 cases in the previous year but none in 1951.
Two cases were removed to hospital and recovered but the
third died prior to the arrival of the ambulance.
Acute Encephalitis. (Infective or Post-Infectious).—Two
cases attributed to this cause were received during the year under
review, both being of the ' Post-Infectious ' type. In the first case,
which followed an attack of Rubella, the recovery was complete but
in the second instance which followed a chicken-pox infection the
patient, a boy of 4 years, died.
Each case received hospital treatment.
Poliomyelitis.—Following investigations into 24 suspects 16
notifications were received. Of this total only 11 were finally
confirmed, 10 being of the paralytic type and 1 non-paralytic.
Figures for the years 1952 and 1951 were 10 and Nil respectively.
The one death registered as being from this disease concerned a
6 year old boy who had been admitted to hospital as a meningococcal
case. Subsequently the autopsy revealed that death was due to
poliomyelitis and a notification to this effect was received and is
included in the total of 11 confirmed cases.
Once again it must be recorded that no determinable relationship
was established between the cases which were distributed
throughout the area thus :—East Greenwich 4 ; West Greenwich 2 ;
St. Nicholas, Deptford, 1 ; Charlton and Kidbrooke 4.
All notified cases were treated in hospital.
The possible connection of paralytic cases with recent inoculation
for diphtheria or whooping cough immunisation and more
especially in regard to the combined antigen has been the subject
of much research. This fact has not been established or confirmed
from the cases in this area. In one case where the patient was so
inoculated less than six months prior to contracting poliomyelitis
the site of the injection was the left arm and the area of paralysis
the lower right leg.