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PREVALENCE AND CONTROL OF
INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
During the year under review, there were notified 505 cases of
infectious diseases. Of this number, 234 and 107 were attributed to
Measles and Pertussis respectively; and of the remaining 164, 79
Were due to Pulmonary and 10 were notified as non-pulmonary
tuberculosis; and 32 were due to pneumonia.
Twelve cases of Scarlet Fever were notified during the year,
and 6 cases of Diphtheria were treated in the Isolation Hospital.
There were no deaths caused by Scarlet Fever, but 2 children
Succumbed from Diphtheria. Neither had been immunised against
Diphtheria and in both cases the parents did not call for medical aid
until the child was "in extremis."
In all, 13 cases were admitted to the Isolation Hospital as
Suffering from Diphtheria, but actually of this number only 3
Suffered from Diphtheria of the throat and as mentioned above, two
died. One other child was admitted as a nasal carrier and the remainder
admitted to the hospital were not diagnosed as suffering
from Diphtheria, although the doctor seeing the case Considered than
clinically Diphtheria.
Every endeavour has been made by the use of films, articles in
the Press, and circularizing the parents at regular intervals,
to induce them to permit their children to be immunised against
Diphtheria. During the year, 405 children under 5 and 192 school
children were immunised against Diphtheria.
The regulations requiring Measles and Pertussis Id be notified
have now been in existence since 1940 but it has taken nearly a year
for the medical practitioners to be educated to notify the cases
in has been necessary to remind the doctors on several occasions and
the result has been that 234 cases of Measles and 107 of Pertussis
were notified during 1941 as compared with 28 and 4 respectively
in 1940.