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First Phase:February-July,
In the first phase there were 7 children aged between 5 and 12 years, and one adult,
43 years (the mother of one of the children).
With the exception of one case of post-diphtheritic paralysis, all had positive
cultures for C. diphtheria, five being gravis strain (all virulent) and two intermedius
strain (one virulent).
One child, 7 years, attended Greengate County Primary School, two children, both 12
years, attended Holbrook County Secondary School, three, aged 5, 6, and 9 years, attended
Bridge County Primary School and one attended Napier County Primary School. All these
schools are situated in areas adjoining each other.
On receipt of a first report of a case of diphtheria from the practitioner or
hospital the home was immediately visited by the Deputy Medical Officer of Health who took
a history of the case, the recent movements, contacts, etc. Throat and nose swabs were
taken from all family contacts and from teachers and children at school.
Case 3 had left a nursery school just eight days before. The children attending
this nursery school were all swabbed and family contacts had three negative swabs before
being pronounced clear.
Wherever necessary, especially in the case of food handlers, adult contacts were
advised not to go to work, in which case the co-operation of employers was readily forthcoming.
Other school children in the households of the cases were excluded from school
until negative throat and nose swabs had been obtained.
Second Phase.
The second phase occurred in November (1 case) and December (5 cases) and extended
into January, 1956, (2 cases). This outbreak overlapped the same area in which the earlier
outbreak had occurred.
The six cases under consideration were all school children aged 10, 9, 6, 5, 12, and
7 years (4 males and 2 females). One attended West Ham Church School; one attended Napier
County Primary School where a previous case had occurred at the end of August; two occurred
on the same day at Portway County Primary School; one occurred at Holbrook County Secondary
School where previous cases had occurred in February and May. This girl died the day after
admission to hospital and was the sister of a further case attending Manor Road County
Primary School.
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