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64
SECTION F.
PREVALENCE OF, AND CONTROL OVER
INFECTIOUS AND OTHER DISEASES.
General.
Compared with the previous year when only 790 notifications
of infectious diseases, excluding tuberculosis were received, the
figure of 1,954 for 1957 may appear bad on the surface. Actually
the picture portrayed by these figures is deceptive for if we exclude
measles, only 506 notifications other than for tuberculosis were
received. If measles were to be eliminated from the 1956 figures
our total of notifications would have been 634, giving an overall
result of 128 notifications less in 1957 than in 1956.
Other variations which have occurred during the year include
small decreases in the number of cases of scarlet fever and
whooping cough, and a big reduction in the incidence of dysentery,
which dropped from 168 to 81. The figures for anterior poliomyelitis
dropped from five to three, and those of food poisoning
from 34 to 23.
Generally speaking, the infectious diseases retained their mild
characteristics of recent years, of the 1,448 cases of measles notified,
only six were removed to hospital.
Acute Anterior Poliomyelitis.
Only three cases were notified, all of which were non-paralytic,
but were all removed to hospital.
Vaccination against Poliomyelitis.
Vaccination against poliomyelitis was carried out by the
County Council during the year, and the County Medical Officer
has furnished the following details of the numbers of children
resident in the Urban District who received a course of two
injections during the year ended 31st December, 1957 :—
Year of Birth 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957
No. Vaccinated 768 699 683 558 183 130 141 120 80 105 —
Grand Total 3,467
Diphtheria and Diphtheria Immunisation.
Once again I am pleased to be able to report a complete
absence of this disease in the Urban District.
The present position with regard to diphtheria immunisation is
summarised in the following figures which have been furnished by
the County Medical Officer.
Of the children resident in the area who were born since 1943,
a total of 1,123 received primary inoculations, and 876 reinforcing
inoculations during 1957.