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14
GEREBRO -S PI HAL MENINGITIS.
The incidence of this disease is greatly increased in
war-time. Six out of the seven cases which occurred in 1941
were from the civilian population in Beckenham, and one was
a Service case.
TYPHOID FEVER.
Since the end of July, six cases of Typhoid Fever have
come to the notice of the Department. Three cases were
notified by Medical Practitioners, one was reported by another
Local Authority, and the remaining two were reported by the
Medical Officer in charge of the Regional Laboratory of the
Ministry of Health.
Details of the cases were as follows:
Case 1. Male aged 51 Suffield Rd. onset 26.7-^41 •
" 2. Male " 17 Sidney Rd. " 1.9.14I.
" 3.Female " 19 Tennyson Rd. 11 3«9*U1»
" 14. Female " 52 Mackenzie Rd. " l6.9«^l«
" 5. Male " 34 Beckenham Rd. " 20.9.U1*
11 6. Female " 18 Parish Lane " 30.9»ijl«
It is doubtful if Case 1, was infected from the same
source as the other cases; the interval between this case
and the next case was very long, and careful enquiries failed
to reveal any common factor: nevertheless the possibility
cannot be definitely excluded.
It will be noted that all cases live in that part of
the Borough which lies to the west of the Mid-Kent line; and
it is worthy of remark that the homes of cases 1, 2 and 3
were adjacent to bombed sites. However, from the evidence
obtained from samples of water regularly taken by this
Department, coupled with a report from the Metropolitan
Water Board, it was quite clear that this was not a waterborne
infection: it also became clear at a very early date
that the infection was not caused by the milk supply.
Moreover, the small number of cases reported made it unlikely
that either water or milk was responsible.
Careful enquiries were made into the sources of the
food supply of the infected households, and it was found
that two sources of food supply were common to all households
of cases 2, 3 and 4. The foods which were thus under
suspicion were (l) Potted Meat and (2) Fresh Fruit Salads.
Neither of these foods are commonly cooked before consumption
and both were therefore quite possible sources of infection.
During the course of our enquiries, we learnt that
there had been two cases of Typhoid Fever in Penge. The