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8
immunisations which means that approximately 67% of
children in their first year of life were immunised in
Ealing.
The need for maintaining a high percentage of children
who are immunised against diphtheria remains as great as
ever and this is stressed at every opportunity.
DYSENTERY
244 cases were notified compared with the 252 cases
in the previous year.
An outbreak of Sonne Dysentery occurred in a Welfare
Department temporary accommodation hostel. The sixteen
rooms of the hostel accommodate 15 families, comprising
29 adults and 42 children. Twelve families use one communal
kitchen and the remaining three families use a second
communal kitchen separate stoves being available for
each family. A total of 5 W Css is available and use is
divided amongst the families It will be seen therefore
that the possibility of spread of infection under such
conditions was high Initially two children were affected
and although they were admitted to Isolation Hospital two
children of a second family, on the same floor were
subsequently affected. These children were also admitted
to Isolation Hospital, All children of both families when
better were discharged from hospital and the original
family affected moved to permanent accommodation, Unfor
tunately the mother of the second family had become a
symptomless carrier and one of her children developed
further symptoms and had to be re admitted to hospital.
The restriction of the outbreak so far, within these
limits, has been in large measure due to the regular
visiting and supervision by the Health Visitor and Health
Inspector concerned to ensure that the strictest attention
is paid to hygiene by all residents of the hostel. The
outbreak emphasises the continual difficulties to be faced
in dealing with Sonne Dysentery, It is often impossible
to render carriers free from organisms, and in the absence
of symptoms to convince them that they are a potential
source of infection, On the other hand failure to eliminate
a carrier leaves the risk of an outbreak ever present.
This is an unsatisfactory situation even though the disease
is of course relatively mild.
ERYSIPELAS.
19 cases were notified.