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43
Diphtheria Immunisation.
This service is the responsibility of the County Council.
During the year 1950, a total of 564 children received Primary
Inoculations and 319 Reinforcing Inoculations.
A total of 10,430 children under the age of 15 years had
completed a course of immunisation (since 1st January, 1936),
at the 31st December, 1950. This is equivalent to approximately
70% of the population under 15 years of age.
Measles.
Two hundred and fifty cases occurred in the district during
1950, as against 1,049 cases for 1949, giving an attack rate of 4 per
1,000 population.
Four of these cases were admitted to hospital and the
remainder were home nursed.
The distribution of the cases occurring was fairly even
throughout the area.
The incidence of this disease almost invariably follows a
predictable course, for being so very infectious, the great
majority of these not immunised by a previous attack, develop it
in a time of epidemic. Thus, after a large outbreak we expect
to be relatively free until the next lot of susceptible children
become exposed to the risk of infection when they also will
contract measles thus providing the next epidemic. The interepidemic
cases are made up from the susceptibles who somehow
missed being attacked during the epidemic and from those who
contract the disease more than once—an uncommon occurrence in
the case of measles.
The vast majority of cases occurring during 1950 were mild
in character and it does seem that, providing there is good home
hygiene and that very young children are not infected, most of
the terrors of this illness have been overcome.
Whooping Cough.
Two hundred and ninety-seven cases were notified during
1950, as against 182 for 1949, giving an attack rate of 4.7 per 1,000
population. Thirteen of these cases were admitted to hospital,
and there were no deaths.
There was a rise in the incidence of this disease compared
with the previous year, but it would be incorrect to draw any
conclusions from the number of notifications of an illness which
has always shown inconsistent variations. It is, however,
pleasant to be able to record that like measles and scarlet fever,
this disease appears to be of a mild type, generally speaking, at
the present time, and what has been said about measles with
reference to hygiene and voidance of the disease in very early
life, applies very much in this case also.