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34
(h) Acute Anterior Poliomyelitis.—13 cases of this disease were notified
during the year; 11 of them were admitted to the Borough Isolation
Hospital.
On the 19th August a boy belonging to a local Scout Troop who had
been in Camp at Forest Row, Sussex, was admitted to the Isolation Hospital.
The boy was in a very critical condition on admission and died four days
later. Five other boys from the same Troop were admitted within the
following 19 days. A sister of one of the boys also contracted the disease
and was admitted to the Isolation Hospital on the 27th August.
In all 130 local boys attended the Camp which terminated on the
10th August. Immediately on establishment of the diagnosis, advice was
sent to the Ministry of Health, the Principal Regional Medical Officer, the
County Medical Officers of Health of Essex and East Sussex, the Medical
Officer of Health, Uckfield U.D.C. (the district in which the Camp was
situate), the London Regional Scout Headquarters and the Director of
Education, and all local medical practitioners and hospitals were circularised
informing them of the presence of the disease. Camp and case contacts were
kept under close surveillance by the Sanitary Inspectors and all contacts
were given appropriate advice regarding precautions and maintenance of
the necessary quarantine periods. A local Church Hall to which items of
camp equipment had been returned was visited and spray disinfection
carried out.
The Boy Scouts' Association supplied a list of 62 various troops representing
1,161 boys who were at the Camp at the same time as the Ilford boys.
A letter was sent to 49 Medical Officers of Health of other districts informing
them of the occurrence with the names of any boys residing in their district
and asking them to advise any developments.
The Both Respirator (Iron Lung) was used for one of the cases admitted
to the Isolation Hospital.
The outbreak was investigated by a Medical Officer of the Ministry of
Health, who visited the Hospital in this connection.
Four other cases of Acute Anterior Poliomyelitis were admitted to the
Isolation Hospital during the year, one a postman of 41 years of age.
The cases were of varying degrees of severity and were all seen by the
orthopaedic consultant and arrangements were made for physiotherapy.
Apart from the fatal case all made satisfactory progress, treatment
where necessary being continued after discharge at the Council's Orthopaedic
and Massage Clinics. In 3 cases recovery was complete; in 6 cases one muscle
group only had slight residual paralysis and in 2 cases more extensive
paralysis necessitated transfer to a special orthopaedic unit at Orsett Lodge
Hospital.
Of the remaining 2 cases (both 2 years of age), 1 was admitted to the
London Hospital and the other attended the Out-Patients' Department
Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street. The first had some
muscular weakness of the right leg in the early stages of the disease; the
patient, however, made a good recovery following prolonged hospital
treatment. The other child received electrical treatment at the Hospital
for Sick Children and made a good recovery without disability.