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103
DYSENTERY.
One case of bacillary dysentery was in hospital at the
beginning of 1938 and seven patients (six of them out-district
cases) were admitted during the year with either a definite
or tentative diagnosis of dysentery. All these patients recovered
satisfactorily and were discharged, the final diagnosis
being:— Dysentery (Sonne) 6; Gastro-enteritis 2.
MEASLES.
Two cases of measles were in hospital on January 1st,
1938, and 89 were admitted during the year. There were
three deaths and 86 discharges, leaving two cases of this
disease in hospital on December 31st, 1938. A post mortem
examination was carried out in connection with one of the
fatal cases and it was established that the cause of death was
measles complicated by streptococcal pneumonia and streptococcal
septicæmia. The other two deaths were due to measles
complicated by broncho-pneumonia.
Apart from the 86 discharges mentioned above, four cases
of measles were found among those notified as scarlet fever,
another among those notified as diphtheria, and a further
case occurred in an infant admitted for nursing purposes who
contracted the disease from his mother. In all, therefore,
there were 92 cases of measles discharged during 1938 and the
average stay in hospital of these (excluding one patient who
was removed by his parents after two days) was 33.8 days.
This average period of detention shows a considerable increase
over the corresponding figure for 1937 (22.7 days) which is
accounted for by a proportionate rise in the number of complications—particularly
mastoiditis—necessitating prolongation
of treatment.
Following are details of the complications encountered
among the completed cases of measles:—