[Report 1952] / Medical Officer of Health, Exmouth U.D.C.

  • Exmouth (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1952
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1952] / Medical Officer of Health, Exmouth U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    10 10. I]\T?SCTI0US DISEASES. During 1952, 116 cases of notifiable infectious diseases were notified which is 423 less than in the previous year. The greatest increase in any particular disease will be seen to be in the case of dysentery of which there were 49 casese (a) Dysentery. The organism causing the dysentery was that of Shigella sonnei which produced a disease of a mild nature. Eash case was closely followed up and in all 335 visits were made by the Additional Sanitary Inspector. 455 samijles of faeces were taken and sent to the Laboratory for analysis, of these 133 were positive and 322 negative. I should like to emphasize here that the conscientious way in which Mr. Redgwell, the Additional Sanitary Inspector, in- vestigated all these cases was in great part responsible for the control of the spread of the disease amongst the general population. (b) Para-typhoid B. fever. This case, a schoolgirl of 13 yea.rs of age, arrived at Exmouth on holiday from Peterborough on the 23rd August, 1952. On the 3rd September she complained of loss of appetite, general aching pains in the limbs, vague abdominal pains and headache. Her eve2iing temperature was 102^iP and she was toxic. There was no vomiting and no diarrhoea. A provisional diagnosis of para- typhoid B fever viras made and she was admitted to Vhipton Isolation Hospital where the diagnosis wa.s later confirmed by serological r'~.'ietion. She was treated with chloramphenicol and made a rapid recovery. (c) Polio-myelitis. The one case of x-^olio-myelitis which occurred on 13th September, 1953 was of a most severe and acute type. The patient, a male of 28 years of age, develojped paralysis of both legs and the left arm; he died in the Isolation Hospital bTiipton shortly after admission. (d) The seasonal incidence of Measles in Exm.outh and England & V/ales as a whole was as follows :- : Jan Feb Mar Apl ; May Jun Jly;Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Exmouth 1 - - - - : - - 7 : 4 1 - 1 - England & Y/ales 65,299 79,853 12 69,209 1 175,064
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