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Erysipelas.—Twenty-four cases of erysipelas were notified
during the year, the same number having been notified during 1937.
No deaths occurred. Seven cases were removed to the Isolation
Hospital.
The type of case met with was mild on the whole, and recovery,
so far as the cases admitted to the Isolation Hospital were concerned,
rapid. From personal experience of the type of case treated
in the Isolation Hospital over the past few years, it would appear
that the virulence of erysipelas has recently been lowered. This
may be only a passing phase in the disease, and for that reason it
is still necessary to treat the infection as a matter of urgency.
Pneumonia.—Thirty-seven cases of pneumonia were notified
during 1938, as against 53 during the previous year. The age
groups of these cases are interesting, and were as follows:
Under 5 years 7
5 to 10 years 6
10 to 15 years 2
15 to 20 ,, 1
20 to 35 „ 5
35 to 45 ,, 5
45 to 65 ,, 9
Over 65 ,, 2
The fall in the pneumonia notifications is welcome, although
the total still stands at a high level. The remark which I made
concerning this disease in my Annual Report for last year still
stands, and I cannot find any evidence of marked improvement in
remedial technique during the past twelve months, apart from the
more general use of a bacteriostatic drug (M. & B. 693) for which
outstanding results have been claimed. Until additional facilities
are available at the Isolation Hospital it would be almost im.
possible to introduce locally the scientific technique of serum typing,
etc., which, in my opinion, should be an integral part of any scheme
for the prevention and control of infectious diseases. Pneumonia
is still essentially a disease in which, apart from general methods
of control, the curative aspect receives much more attention than
does its preventive counterpart. So long as the advice tendered
by the medical profession, either the family doctor or the local
health official, falls upon heedless ears, so long will pneumonia
take its toll among all ages of the population. We must, therefore,
accept this fact, and provide the most adequate treatment at our
disposal.
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