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INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Poliomyelitis
One case was notified as suffering from poliomyelitis - a
man aged 35 years - who was admitted to hospital; polio-virus type
1 was later isolated from stools. The patient had not been vaccinated
against poliomyelitis. Nearly two months after admission he could
sit up and was able to walk with a support: a mild residual paralysis
was noted on discharge from hospital.
A note on vaccination against poliomyelitis appears on page 69.
Food Poisoning
No outbreak occurred in the Borough and only six cases were
notified by general practitioners- six other cases came to the knowledge
of the department, making 12 in all for the year.
Last year I commented on the late notification of cases of food
poisoning making the investigation of the source of infection very
difficult. Once again the importance of this must be stressed in
order to make it possible to carry out full enquiries at an early stage.
Food poisoning is the only infectious disease for which notification to
the Medical Officer of Health of a "suspected" case is required by law.
The potential danger of using reheated meals is well illustrated
by reference to a case of food poisoning caused by salmonella typhimurium
contained in steak and kidney. The patient was a man living
on his own, who purchased the steak and kidney on a Saturday and
partly cooked it the next day. He presumably partly cooked it in
order to preserve it, being unaware that this is a dangerous practice.
The following Wednesday it was reheated and the patient had some for
the evening meal. The next day he again reheated it for his meal.
A little before 7 o'clock the following morning (Friday) he had diarrhoea
and vomiting and a slight headache. He felt unwell throughout the
day, but this did not deter him from having some more of the steak
and kidney that evening. The following morning he threw away the
remainder and as he continued to be unwell the doctor was called in
on the Monday morning. The symptoms were severe and lasted in all
six days. Another point about this case was that his meat and
perishables were stored in a basket hanging from a hook in the ceiling
- a most' unsatisfactory method, especially as the heat of the room
tends to rise: which together provided ideal conditions for the growth
of the food poisoning organisms.
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