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10
by case to case transference. There were no very typical
symptoms other than diarrhoea, and only in one out of a
large number of specimens examined was the Sonne
bacillus isolated. This however was sufficient to confirm
suspicions as to the cause. The infection was only brought
to an end by the exclusion of all children under two years
of age. A proportion of these young children showed
relapses over a period of months, and it was found that
very little reliance could be placed on bacteriological
examination as a criterion of their fitness to mix with
others. They were therefore persistent reservoirs of
infection. As I have indicated on previous occasions it
is probable that this type of infection is as frequent as
the common "cold," but is is usually only among young
children that the condition is ever serious. The gravity
of the infection when young children are involved is
emphasised by the fact that six deaths had occurred over
some months before the necessity for drastic action was
fully appreciated.
SCABIES.
Scabies still remained a "nuisance disease" and
showed little sign of abating during the year. One of the
chief causes of its spread is the reluctancee of people to
admit that they may have contracted the disease, and even
the unwillingness of doctors to diagnose it. Many cases
do not conform to the familiar text-book description, and
the only safe rule to follow at the present time is to
consider every itching eruption to be due to scabies until
it has been proved something else. The policy of relying
on home laundry only for the disinfestation of clothing
has been continued, and has now been adopted as the
official policy of the Ministry of Health. It has not yet
been found necessary to use central cleansing stations.
The convenience of most householders is better suited by
treatment in the home, and this has been carried out with
the willing help of Civil Defence personnel in co-operation
with the patients themselves. The proprietary poly-