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21
PREVALENCE AND CONTROL OF INFECTIOUS AND
CONTAGIOUS DISEASES
The following cases of infectious and contagious diseases were notified:-
Dysentery 258 Poliomyelitis, Paralytic 2
Encephalitis, infective 2 Puerperal Pyrexia 121
Encephalitis, post infectious 1 Scabies 39
Erysipelas 11 Scarlet Fever 179
Measles 820 Tuberculosis 119
Meningococcal infection 4 Whooping Cough 79
Ophthalmia Neonatorum 21
Pneumonia 62
(Acute Primary 39
Acute Influenzal 23)
The THREE DEATHS associated with notified cases of infectious disease were:-
Pneumonia (Male, aged 72 years, and
Females aged 65 and 76 years) 3
DIPHTHERIA. For the fifth successive year no case of Diphtheria was notified,
but during the early part of the year we had occasion to investigate some
contacts of a school child case in a neighbouring district. Since 1951 only
one case has occurred in this borough.
Four suspected cases were admitted to hospital, where they were diagnosed
as suffering from streptococcal tonsillitis, staphylococcal septicaemia,
tonsillitis and infective mononucleosis respectively. Although the occurrence
of diphtheria is now a rarity, the following table relating to Diphtheria
notifications and deaths in England and Wales indicates that there is no cause
for complacency regarding diphtheria immunisation:-
Corrected
Year Deaths notifications
1948 156 3,575
1949 84 1,890
1950 49 962
1951 33 664
1952 2 76
1953 3 66
1954 9 176
1955 131 155
1956 853
1957 637
1958 8 79
DYSENTERY (Sonne). Of the 254 cases of this disease which were notified,
23 cases were associated with outbreaks at day nurseries. In the previous
year 129 cases were notified, and there were 190 notifications in 1956.
DYSENTERY FLEXNERI Four cases were notified, two adults and two school
children.
ENCEPHALITIS, post infectious. In the one case of this disease notified,
the condition was a complication of Chicken Pox. The child, a girl aged
13 years, made an uneventful recovery.
ENCEPHALITIS, infective. The two adult cases notified made satisfactory
recoveries.