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81
SMALLPOX
There were three occasions on which contacts of persons suffering
or suspected to be suffering from smallpox came into the district. The
first was on the occurrence of a case of smallpox in Liverpool in March
in which there was one secondary case. Later in the month a patient
who was admitted to a hospital in this district had travelled on a 'plane
from which had been removed a patient suffering from smallpox. In the
third instance five passengers and three members of the crew of a boat
on which there had been a suspected case of smallpox came into this
district; the diagnosis, however, was not confirmed. In these cases the
contacts are kept in touch with for a period something longer than the usual
incubation period of the infection.
Vaccination
During the year, 2,374 persons living in the district were vaccinated
against smallpox for the first time. Of these, 1,810 were under one year
of age and 231 were over one but under two years of age.
722 persons were re-vaccinated. 2,931 babies were born daring the
year. The number of vaccinations of those under one year of age was
therefore 62 per cent of the births. Of those under one year of age who
were vaccinated 865 were treated at the infant welfare centres. The present
position, though far short of what is desirable, is a marked improvement
on that of the country as a whole, and is better than the position before
1948 when, although it was obligatory on parents to have their children
vaccinated, a very much smaller proportion were in fact treated because
so many parents took advantage of the clause by which they could claim
exemption. It is possible that more parents are having their babies
vaccinated because of the scale on which protection against other infections
is carried out and they are coming to accept vaccination against smallpox
as just one of these procedures.
ENTERIC FEVER
Although it is many years now since any substantial number of cases
of enteric fever occurred in any one year amongst those living in this
district, it was up to recently usual to have a few notifications each year,
most of these being of persons suffering from paratyphoid fever. 1959
followed 1958 as being a year in which no notifications were received,
not even amongst those who had spent summer holidays abroad.
DYSENTERY
The number of notifications received of patients suffering from
yhse,?tery varies greatly from year to year, depending very largely on
aetha the infection has struck the pupils of one or more schools in
e district. This year there were only seven notifications; nearly all of
em were of adults. In a number of instances the diagnosis was arrived