View report page

ii
smallpox, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and poliomyelitis, for
which vaccination or immunisation is available. It was pointed out that
this entailed parents in considerable, though well worth while effort.
After much thought and deliberation in the early part of 1959, leading
authorities in this country have suggested a suitable programme for
the administration of these inoculations, some separately and some in
combination, and parents are again urged to ensure that their children
derive the greatest possible advantage from the facilities available.
The programme provides for protection against tuberculosis for older
school-children through the use of B.C.G. vaccine, and of course everyone
under forty years of age is now eligible for poliomyelitis vaccination.
No case of diphtheria was notified in Southwark during 1959. Of
the seven cases of poliomyelitis which occurred, only one had been
vaccinated. Measles was more prevalent and there were sixty cases of
whooping cough. There were no deaths from these conditions.
Bacteriophages are viruses that parasitize bacteria. The fact
that different strains of the same organism are sensitive to different
phages has made it possible for a phage-typing scheme to be developed
which is of particular value in tracing the source of alimentary
conditions due to infection with a member of the salmonella group of
organisms. The leading exponent of this method of 'fingerprinting'
different strains of salmonellae is Dr. W.S. Anderson, Director of the
Central Enteric Reference Laboratory at the Central Public Health
Laboratory, Colindale, and I am grateful to him and to his staff for
the phage typing which was undertaken in relation to eighteen cases of
paratyphoid fever which occurred in Southwark during the second quarter
of the year. The organism isolated was in each case Salmonella paratyphi
B phage type taunton. All of the patients as well as three associated
cases in a neighbouring Borough, had consumed confectionery purchased
from an establishment in which the night baker was found to be harbouring
Salmonella paratyphi B of the same phage type. The exclusion
of this baker from duty along with the disinfection and cleansing of
the bakehouse concerned, at an early stage in the investigation,
brought the outbreak to a close. It is noteworthy that of the 18 cases
no fewer than 13, or 68 per cent occurred in four households, the
dates of onset suggesting that they were secondary cases.
In addition to being a very valuable aid in tracing the source of
an outbreak of infection due to the various strains of salmonellae,
phage typing can also, on occasion, give an indication of the type of
foodstuff which may be involved. In this instance.it is noteworthy that
Salmonella paratyphi B phage type taunton has in the past been found in
samples of the particular imported egg product which was favoured by
the baker concerned. Pasteurisation, or some form of heat treatment of
egg products has long been advocated and was mentioned in my report