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Domiciliary enquiries were made and bacteriological examination of 9 Islington
contacts all proved negative.
4. Information was received from the Port Medical Officer, Southampton, of the s.s.
'CJiusan" which had been on a three weeks cruise, calling at ports in the Mediterranean
and docking at Southampton on the 16th September, 1964.
Subsequently, two of the passengers were reported suffering from Paratyphoid "B"
Fever, with onsets on the 16th & 19th September 1964.
Four passengers had proceeded to addresses in Islington.
They were all visited and bacteriological examinations proved negative.
The remaining three groups were reports of fourteen hospital & ward contacts of
both typhoid & paratyphoid "B" fever cases found in two neighbouring hospitals.
All Islington contacts were visited & kept under observation. Bacteriological
examinations all proved negative.
Typhus
Information was received of a Cypriot adult female, who was admitted to hospital
a short time after arrival in this country. She had developed symptoms whilst on board
ship.
Results of serological tests showed that the patient's illness was due to a
variety of Mediterranean tick typhus.
Dysentery
The incidence of Dysentery in 1964 (231 cases) was considerably less than in 1963
when there were 1378 - a record. From the detailed analysis it will be noted that 73
cases (32%) were under 5 years and 80 cases (35%) of schoolage. The infecting
organism in nearly all cases was Shigella Sonnei and the illness was rarely severe or
dangerous
Whilst the source of infection was undiscovered in the greater proportion of
cases, there were three minor outbreaks, two in Islington schools and one in a private
Day Nursery, and three other small groups of cases associated with a school, a Day
Nursery and an L.C.C. Home outside the Borough.
It will be seen from the dysentery table on page 22 that arising out of the
extensive enquiries made, only one case was found to be employed as a food handler
although 19 food handlers were discovered who were direct or indirect contacts of
dysentery cases.