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5
The single death due to poliomyelitis was the case of a child who
contracted the disease in 1951 and who was so seriously affected that
he could not live without the assistance of an iron lung. None of
the cases which occurred in 1953 were fatal.
The death from whooping cough is a reminder that this is a most
serious disease which not only kills several hundred children each
year but also does much harm to the health of many thousands. There
is reason to hope the incidence and mortality rate will be gradually
reduced by preventive inoculation.
There were only 6 deaths of infants under 1 year of age. This is
the smallest number ever recorded and the rate compares most favourably
with other towns. No child under the age of 2 years died from
enteritis.
Unfortunately, I again have to report that there was one death due
to pregnancy—the patient, who was mother of a large family and
expecting another baby died suddenly, as a result of a condition
complicating the pregnancy.
NOTIFIABLE DISEASES.
The table of Comparative Statistics shows that Richmond residents
suffered an unduly high incidence of whooping cough, poliomyelitis,
and food poisoning.
Whooping Cough.
I can offer no satisfactory reason for the high incidence of whooping
cough but suggest that it may be related to the particularly low
incidence of this disease in 1952.
Poliomyelitis.
Between the 10th May and the 26th June there occurred 7 cases
of poliomyelitis, of which, no less than 5 were severely ill. The
occurrence of these cases so early in the season and within such a
short period was a matter of very grave concern and might well have
been the beginning of a considerable outbreak.
Six of the cases were children between and 10 years of age and
one was an adult male. Three of the children attended private
schools, and home conditions were good in all cases.
In one case, the onset of the disease followed shortly after an
operation for the removal of tonsils, and in another, it followed an