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The epidemic followed the usual pattern, commencing in the middle of June and dying
out in the late Autumn. All but two of the cases occurred during the four months July,
August, September and October. The two exceptions were an isolated case which occurred
during the third week of February and one case which occurred during November.
The age distribution of cases was as followss-
Age Male Female Age Male Female
Under 1 year 1 1 15 - 3 2
1-2 2 25 - 1
5 - 3 2 35 - - -
10 4 - 45 & over 1 -
FOOD POISONING. Corrected notifications - Quarterly.
1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter TOTAL
- 11 4 2 17
Of the above notified cases 12 occurred singly, and 5 in an outbreak involving one
family. It was not possible to trace the source of infection with any degree of certainty
in any of these cases.
DYSENTERY.
There were 66 cases of this disease notified during the year (38 males and 28 females),
giving a case rate of 0.39 per 1,000 of the population.
GASTRITIS, ENTERITIS AND DIARRHOEA.
During the year the number of deaths from this disease was 12 of which 9 occurred
below the age of one year.
TYPHOID AND PARA-TYPHOID FEVERS.
There was one case of typhoid fever during the year, a man aged 53 years, who was
the proprietor of a cafe.
Specimens of faeces and urine were taken from members of the family and the cafe
staff. All proved negative.
The source of infection was not determined. The man had visited Italy a short time
before the onset of the disease. Fortunately, there was no spread of infection through the
cafe service.
MEASLES.
The number of cases of measles notified during the year was 2,428 - 1,270 in males
and 1,158 in females. This compares with 1,504 cases notified during the previous year.
The case rate per 1,000 of the total population was 14.36. There were 2 deaths.
This epidemic arose in consonance with the normal cycle of prevalence experienced
in this disease. It was still in progress at the end of the year.
DIPHTHERIA.
There was one case of this disease during the year. This was a girl aged 1 year and
10 months. She had not been immunised.
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