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children and one member of the staff, an assistant cook. Sixteen
of the children had no symptoms.
All cultures in this outbreak belonged to an untypable
Vi strain, which was subsequently designated by the Central
Enteric Reference Laboratory as Type 2 var.l.
Erysipelas. We received 12 notifications of this disease
during the year, one of which involved the leg, the remainder
being facial erysipelas. Six of the patients were males and six
females. Three of the cases were removed to isolation hospital
for treatment and the others were treated at their homes.
Pneumonia. There were 90 cases of Pneumonia notified
Of this total, 49 were stated to be influenzal in origin, a figure
considerably higher than the normal annual average. The
first three months of the year accounted for 37 of these, and
the figures are comparable with those of 1951, another
abnormal year when, of a total of 67 cases, 51 occurred in the
first quarter.
Puerperal Pyrexia. Forty-one cases of Puerperal Pyrexia
were notified, giving a rate of 46.32 per thousand births. Our
rate is high, due mainly to the fact that we have quite a large
maternity unit situated in the area and all cases occurring
there are allocated to our district. Thirty-nine cases were in
fact notified from this particular hospital. The notification
rate has of course increased throughtout the country since
1951 when new regulations came into force giving a revised
defiinition of Puerperal Pyrexia.
Ophthalmia Neonatorum. One case only was notified
during the year; the child made a complete recovery and vision
was unimpaired.
Meningococcal Infection. This case concerned a child
aged one year who was admitted to hospital in March as a
suspected Meningitis. Diagnosis, based on the clinical picture,
was Meningococcal Meningitis; there was very little pathological
confirmation. Fortunately the case turned out to be
quite mild and the child made a speedy recovery.
CLEANSING STATION.
There was an increase in the number of attendances at
the Cleansing Station during the year, the total being 31 as
compared with 22 in 1952. The details of the attendances
during the year are as follows:—
Number of cases of Scabies treated 13
Cases of Scabies with concurrent verminous head —
Cases of Scabies with Secondary Septic Skin conditions —
Number of cases of verminous heads only 18
Total number of attendances at the Centre 31
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