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manufacture and distribution of food The washing of hands after
use of the W. c. is the most effective protective measure against
intestinal carriers of infection. Early notification of cases of
food poisoning is necessary so as to obtain the residue of suspected
food for bacteriological examination.
Dysentery, Two cases were notified in 1958, compared with
fifteen cases in 1957. Both were of the Sonne type.
Sonne Dysentery is a highly infectious form of gastroenteritis.
The infection is spread by faecal contamination of
hands, objects;, and, in particular, lavatory seats. Prevention
depends on the washing of hands after use of the W.C. and on the
efficient cleansing of communal W. Cs. in schools and public places.
Typhoid and Paratyphoid Fevers. No case was notified.
Meningococcal Infections. No case was notified.
Poliomyelitis,, Two cases were notified In 1958, compared
with eleven cases In 1957. Both were adults. One was paralytic
and one non-paraiytiC A man, aged 27 years, contracted infection
while on holiday abroad and has residual paralysis of the legs.
A woman, aged 30 years, has recovered completely.
The reduction in the number of cases is gratifying and the
absence of cases among children suggests a definite protective
effect from immunisation.
Vaccination against Poliomyelitis was extended by the end of
1958 to all persons aged six months to twenty five years, together
with some special categories
During the year approximately nine thousand six hundred
persons were vaccinated against Poliomyelitis in the following
groups.
(1) Children 6 months to 15 years 8,760
(2) Young people 15 to 25 years 290
(3) Other priority groups 550
Pneumonia, There were twenty seven deaths from Pneumonia in
1958, compared with twenty three in 1957. Thirty four cases of
Pneumonia were notified in 1958, compared with forty three in
1957. Twenty one were cases of Influenzal Pneumonia.
Non-Notifiable Diseases School teachers reported two
hundred and thirty cases of Mumps, one hundred and nineteen cases
of Chicken Pox and fifty six cases of German Measles. School
returns are a useful Index of the prevalence of non-notifiabie diseases
and are a basis for consultation with the school medical officer.
infestations Six cases of Scabies and six cases of
infestation by head lice were treated during the year. The total
number of treatments was forty three.
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