View report page

16
DIPHTHERIA, Eight persons were admitted to infectious diseases hospitals as
suspected cases of diphtheria In no case was the existence of the disease
confirmed;, and the final diagnoses were as follows:-
Right Otitis Media 1
Upper Respiratory Tract Infection 1
Tonsillitis 5
Stomatitis 1
DYSENTERY, There were 447 notified cases of Sonne dysentery as compared with
340 in the previous year and 103 in 1953 The vast majority of these cases
were confirmed bacteriologically and twenty-one cases were admitted to hospital
for treatment Of these cases 302 were associated with outbreaks at two
primary schools - one situated in the borough and the other just over the
borough boundary eight with another school outside the borough, and nine with a day nursery in Hackney.

ENCEPHALITIS, ACUTE INFECTIVE. Two notified cases, a girl aged 5 years and a
boy aged 9 years, were confirmed as Acute Meningo Encephalitis Both made
satisfactory recoveries after a few weeks' hospital treatment.
MALARIA, The one notification of Malaria received related to a man who had
recently returned from British East Africa.
MEASLES, Notifications of Measles to the number of 2,141 were received, the
majority in the first four months of the year, Cases admitted to hospital
totalled 78, and the one death attributed to this disease, a boy aged 8 years,
has already been referred to in the paragraph dealing with deaths associated
with infectious disease
MENINGOCOCCAL INFECTION The four confirmed cases, females aged 11 and 48
years and males aged 8 and 13 years all made satisfactory recoveries after
hospital treatment,
OPHTHALMIA NEONATORUM, This disease is defined in the Public Health (Ophthalmia
Neonatorum) Regulations, as "a purulent discharge from the eyes of an
infant commencing within 21 days from the date of its birth". The two cases
notified made satisfactory recoveries with no impairment of vision,
PARATYPHOID FEVER A sharp explosive outbreak of this disease occurred in the
autumn. The first case came to our notice towards the end of August and the
onset of symptoms in the last case took place towards the end of October. In
all, notifications relating to 40 residents of the borough were received
there were also two notifications to other Authorities of persons resident
outside Hackney, both of whom were employees in a food premises in the affected
area of the borough. Of the total of 40 Hackney residents, 34 were regarded
as primary cases and 6 as secondary cases. Some 11 of the Hackney residents
who gave positive bacteriological findings did not admit having had symptoms at
any time and they were regarded as symptomless excreters. Thirty-one persons
were admitted to hospital for treatment, including 2 symptomless excreters, and
the remaining 9 symptomless excreters were treated in their own homes. In 5
instances there were two 'cases' in one family, in 2 instances three 'cases'
and 2 instances four 'cases'.