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55
Poliomyelitis.
No cases of poliomyelitis were notified in Kingston during
196l. Outbreaks of the disease did, however, occur in some Northern
towns during the latter part of the year and an innovation introduced
to check these outbreaks was mass immunisation of the population by
vaccination with Sabin vaccine, The vaccination can be given in
syrup from a spoon or taken on a lump of sugar. Three doses are recommended,
separated by an interval of four to six weeks. The vaccine
can be given at any age from infancy to adult life.
Sabin vaccine given by mouth not only provides protection but
also prevents protected persons from harbouring natural dangerous
poliomyelitis virus and spreading disease to unprotected persons.
This type of vaccine is of great value during an epidemic because it
works quickly.
Oral vaccine is now being introduced for all routine vaccination
against poliomyelitis in the area and is to be made available for the
immunisation of persons eligible under approved local health authority
arrangements, i.e. "priority groups" namely those over six months and
under 40 years of age and certain others at special risk. The following
small groups are also included:-
A. Hospital staff who come in contact with patients.
B. Practising dental surgeons, dental students, dental
hygienists, student hygienists and dental surgeons'
chairside assistants, and their families.
C. Practising nurses not working in hospitals (those
working in hospitals are already eligible) and their
families.
D. Public health staff who may come in contact with
poliomyelitis cases, and their families.
Dysentery (Sonne).
A total of 7 cases of dysentery were notified during 1961 compared
with 6 during 1960. These notifications were all in respect of individuals
or individual families. No outbreaks occurred during the year.
Although the type of cases which occur are normally sporadic
individual dysentery cases there is always an awareness that such infection
can be widely spread by contagion from person to person, and
that the illness can have a serious effect on babies and debilitated
persons.