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sary precautions were taken and investigations carried out and there
were no further developments.
Tuberculosis
The Chest Clinic serving the Borough is based at the Cumberland
Hospital. Our Tuberculosis Health Visitor there assists the Chest
Physician in case finding, contact tracing and follow-up, in addition to
giving help and advice to patients.
Notification of pulmonary tuberculosis increased from 20 in 1971
to 28 in 1972 but as the figure for 1972 was phenomenally low, this
increase was not considered to be of any great significance. The notification
rate for respiratory tuberculosis for the Borough this year was
16 per 100,000 population which is below the national average of 19
per 100,000 population. There were five non-pulmonary cases notified,
two less than in the previous year.
Typhoid and Paratyphoid
There was no confirmed case of typhoid in the Borough during
the year but the Department was involved in the investigations of 13
contacts of suspected cases of typhoid and three contacts of paratyphoid
fever. All investigations proved negative.
Minor outbreaks
A few small and brief outbreaks of sickness and/or diarrhoea
occurred in schools during the year. Bacteriological investigation was
carried out in all cases but no organism was isolated.
In one middle school where there seemed to be recurring waves
of this type of illness, very thorough investigations, including bacteriological
and viral examination of specimens from pupils and staff, were
carried out. Water supplies were tested bacteriologically and chemically,
all aspects of hygiene and food handling were closely considered,
but in spite of all this, results of all tests proved negative.
Food Poisoning
There were no outbreaks of food poisoning in any school, nursery
or residential establishment in the Borough during the year 1972.
Eleven notifications of confirmed food poisoning were received in
1972 compared with 18 in 1971. Their breakdown is given below:—
Salmonella typhimurium 4
Salmonella bredeney 1
Salmonella give 1
Salmonella lille 1
Salmonella enteritidis 1
Salmonella (unidentified) 3
Thirty-four persons were concerned in the investigations and
four of these had contracted their infection while abroad. One case of
s.typhimurium in a child aged one year continued positive for two
months.
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