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49
After the acute stage had subsided it was necessary to arrange
for the transfer of four of these cases to orthopaedic hospitals for
special treatment.
Incidence.
Of the 14 persons notified to be suffering from poliomyelitis
during the year, in two cases the diagnosis was not confirmed as
the result of observation in hospital. The " corrected " notifications—12
cases in a population of 105,550 persons—therefore
represent an attack rate of 10.13 per 100,000 population ; which
compares with an attack rate of 18 per 100,000 population for
England and Wales.
Sex and Age Distribution.
Of the 12 cases, seven were males, and five were females.
The age distribution was :—
Under one year 1 case
One to five years 2 cases
Five to fifteen years 6 cases
Fifteen to twenty-five years 2 cases
Over 25 years 1 case
It will be seen that at least one case occurred in each of the
five age groups ; and, although the incidence was greatest among
children of school age (5 to 15 years), at no school in the area did
more than one case occur.
Mortality and Morbidity.
One patient, a male aged 33 years, died in hospital nine days
after notification.
Of the 12 cases in which the diagnosis was confirmed, five were
sufficiently slight not to require long-stay in-patient treatment in
hospital and not likely to interfere with a normal life, six were of
moderate severity requiring longer hospital treatment but with a,
good prospect of an ultimate return to a normal life, and one was
of fatal severity.
Fortunately no case occurred of paralysis of respiratory muscles,
necessitating treatment in a special respirator (" Iron Lung ").