View report page

65
A total of 12,838 children under the age of fifteen years on
31st December, 1957, have completed a course of immunisation at
some time before that date.
Dysentery.
Quite a considerable fall in the incidence of dysentery was
experienced during the year, and this was in conformity with the
figures for the country as a whole. Eighty-one cases occurred in
the area, as against one hundred and sixty-eight in 1956, and once
again most of the cases were of short duration and not responsible
for any severe symptoms. Five cases received in-patient hospital
treatment.
Food Poisoning.
Twenty-three notifications were received during the year, as
against thirty-four in 1956. None of these cases was of a serious
nature, and in spite of exhaustive enquiries entailing the examination
of eighty-eight pathological specimens, in no case was the
causative agent identified. The following is a copy of the annual
return rendered to the Ministry of Health in respect of the year
1957:—
Food Poisoning Notifications (Corrected) Returned to Registrar
General:
1st Quarter. 2nd Quarter. 3rd Quarter. 4th Quarter. Total.
7 1 15 — 23
Outbreaks due to identified Agents:
Total outbreaks. Total cases.
Outbreaks of Undiscovered Cause:
Total outbreaks. Total cases.
3 19
Single cases:
Agent identified. Unknown cause. Total.
— 4 4
Measles.
As was to be expected after a year of few notifications, a large
increase in the incidence of this disease occurred in 1957.
One thousand, four hundred and forty-eight cases being notified
as against one hundred and fifty-six in 1956. Only six cases had to
be admitted to hospital.
This ailment, although so widespread, retained the milder
characteristics so noticeable of late, and it would seem that here
we are dealing with a condition of lessening importance and that
the higher standard of living has dealt a crippling blow to the
killing power of this illness.
Meningococcal Infections.
No cases were notified in the area during 1957.