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58
Food Poisoning.
Thirteen single cases were notified during the year and in nine
of them the causative organism was discovered.
A number of unconfirmed cases were also investigated and
pathological specimens taken by the department.
It is inevitable that a considerable number of such cases will
never come to the notice of a medical practitioner and it is therefore
necessary to state that the actual number of cases occurring
probably bears little relation to the number notified. It appears very
desirable to draw attention to this point in order to encourage the
highest possible standard of kitchen hygiene in all walks of life,
otherwise, with so few " official" cases to report, there might be
a tendency to minimise the importance of those very vital operations.
Measles.
The year produced a large epidemic of measles and 1,466 cases
were notified in the Urban District, but it is a commentary on the
mildness of the condition that only eleven of these cases necessitated
hospital admission. In the previous year 229 cases were notified
but most of these occurred at the end of the year and were part of
the same epidemic. It is highly probable that the number of actual
cases was greater than this, but as always occurs when an infection
is mild, a certain number of cases never receive any medical attention
and so miss being notified.
There were no deaths from this disease in the area.
Pneumonia (all forms).
During the year 67 cases were notified, as compared with 62 for
the previous year.
There were 37 deaths from pneumonia. This figure includes
people who died in other areas, but who are normally resident in
the Urban District.
Scarlet Fever.
Scarlet fever continues to be a mild infection with the occasional