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13
Diphtheria.
No case was notified during 1956. The last case notified was in
1951, a very mild throat infection not confirmed bacteriologically.
Information regarding immunisation against diphtheria is to be found on
page 41.
Dysentery.
During the year 49 notifications of dysentery were received. Nine
of the cases were treated in hospital ; 12 of them were confirmed bacteriologically
and none of the persons notified had the disease in a serious
form.
Food Poisoning.
Cases of this disease to the number of 46 were notified, as compared
with 43 in the previous year. These included nine "outbreaks"
involving 24 cases of undiscovered cause ; and of the 22 single cases in
only two was the agent identified (Salmonella organisms). Only in six
cases was hospitalisation necessary.
Measles.
1956 was expected to be an inter-epidemic year. However, 831
cases were notified, compared with 717 cases in 1955. Only 18 cases
were admitted to hospital, and no child died from this disease.
Poliomyelitis.
Two cases of paralytic poliomyelitis, and one non-paralytic, were
notified during the year. The paralytic cases were in male adults, one
aged 20 and the other, 32. In both cases there is still some residual
paralysis. The non-paralytic case occurred in a local hospital in the
person of a child patient not normally resident in this area.
The death from poliomyelitis in the Causes of Death table occurred
in a child who was notified in 1955 and died early in 1956 from lobar
pneumonia with poliomyelitis as a contributing factor to her death. The
annual incidence for the last 10 years commencing with 1947 is : 14, 2,
20, 14, 0, 12, 8, 1, 21, 3.
Whooping Cough.
163 cases were notified, compared to 48 during 1955. There
appears no logical reason why the number of notifications has increased.
Eighteen of the cases occurred in infants of one year or under. There
were no deaths from this disease during the year. Information regarding
protection against whooping cough will be found on page 41.
Scarlet Fever.
This disease is still with us in a mild form, and of the 58 cases only
eight were removed to hospital.
Pneumonia.
141 cases were notified ; and as no action is taken it is doubtful
whether notification serves any useful purpose other than statistically
except, perhaps, when there is reason to expect an influenza epidemic.
An undue rise in notifications may be a useful pointer to the advent
of such an epidemic. Many medical practitioners do not trouble to notify
such manifestations, and for some years one medical practitioner in
the Borough has reported the majority of cases in which notification
has been received.