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Winter Sickness in a Primary School
A number of children suffered attacks of sickness in mid-October.
Specimens from 14 children proved negative and this outbreak, too,
ended quickly.
Tuberculous Meningitis
In early May a notification of tuberculous meningitis was received
in respect of a young lady no longer resident in the Borough.
Enquiries revealed that she had been a student at the Wimbledon
School of Art. All other students and the staff at the school were
offered Mass X-ray by the Mobile Unit which attended the school on
9th June. 127 people were X-rayed out of a possible 250 who had
been circularised. No significant disease was found.
Smallpox
Twenty-two persons arriving in the Borough without a valid
International Certificate of Vaccination were kept under surveillance
for the necessary period.
Food Poisoning and Food Poisoning Infections
In mid-April the Department was notified of a case of food
poisoning in a member of the staff at a Public House in the Borough.
Routine investigation of the staff brought to light one other person
who was a carrier of a different food poisoning organism. Both the
case and the carrier were excluded from work but the carrier was able
to go back after two weeks although, since in her capacity as assistant
manageress she had worked at a number of hotels in the immediately
preceding period, a widespread investigation was necessary. The
original case continued positive for seven weeks. The agent causing
the illness was not discovered.
Early in August there were a number of cases of food poisoning
among blind persons following a meal. Two of the kitchen staff of the
caterers who supplied the meal were also affected. The illness was
fortunately very mild and of less than 24 hours' duration. It was
found to be due to roast beef which had been re-heated. Inspection of
the kitchen concerned resulted in several improvements being made
and in the handling and preparation of the pre-cooked meals being
re-organised so as to make a repetition of the trouble most unlikely.
Food Poisoning Infection in a Hostel
In October, as a result of the routine medical examination of a
newly appointed teacher who had recently returned from India, a case
of food poisoning infection was found. She was admitted to hospital
and after a course of treatment was cleared fairly quickly. Twenty-two
other residents were checked and one carrier was found who cleared
quickly after treatment.
Suspected Food Poisoning - Old People's Home
There was an outbreak of enteritic type illness among the residents
of one of the Authority's Old People's Homes in November. A
visit by the Deputy Medical Officer of Health resulted in samples of
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