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is readily done in the laboratory by examination of faeces, but
the task of controlling an outbreak is a major operation calling
for close co-operation between laboratory, medical practitioners,
teachers, parents and Public Health Department staff.
The high local notification rate is no doubt due in large
measure to the diligence with which cases are searched for and
contacts checked.
No person who has been a confirmed case (child or adult)
is regarded as reasonably free from liability to spread infection
until three consecutive negative specimens have been forthcoming.
There is much evidence of reversion after two negatives and even
of this occurring more than once with the same patient.
Sonne Dysentery is a highly infectious disease which can
be fatal in very young children, and because of the rapidity with
which it spreads it is necessary to move very quickly in applying
control measures when a case occurs if a large outbreak is to be
prevented.
The greatest chance of success comes when no time is lost
in recognising the condition and notifying it to the Public Health
Department.
FOOD POISONING.
There were no outbreaks of food poisoning and no deaths
from this cause.
\
In nine sporadic cases of suspected:-food poisoning noyified
by general medical practitioners the causative organisms were
identified as shown below:-
Staph. Aureus 5 cases
S. Typhi-murium 3 cases
S. Derby 1 case
This is four less than last year.
While the decrease is Welcomed, the object of our efforts
in food hygiene, standards of cleanliness in the preparation,
cooking, and serving of food is aimed at eliminating this risk
altogether.
The case of S. Derby was a man who was undoubtedly infected
during a business trip to Central America.
Two of the S. Typhi-murium cases were father and son aged
3 years who became ill during a summer holiday on the East coast.
The third was a child of and the origin of his illness
was not traced.
One of the Staph.Aureus cases was a man whose illness
necessitated removal to hospital and was probably due to eating
ham purchased in another district where other cases were traced with
the same origin.
Another case was a woman in business outside the Borough
and the source of her illness could not be traced.
Two other Staph.Aureus cases were mother and daughter and
again the origin of the illness was not definitely proved.
Suspicion rested upon salt beef from which a food poisoning
type Staph. Aureus was isolated, but phage typing of a specimen
from one of the patients revealed another type not usually
associated with food poisoning.
The fifth case was a six months old child who was most likely
infected at home. 17.