PRIMARY SCHOOLS CLOSED

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 14533, 29 November 1947, Page 3

PRIMARY SCHOOLS CLOSED

AUCKLAND CENTRAL DISTRICT

Infantile Paralysis

Precautions

Children Must Be Kept

From Crowds

(PA). Auckland, Nov. 29. One poliomyelitis victim died in the Auckland Hospital about 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon. He was a married man aged 27. Two more positive and four suspected cases of infantile paralysis were reported yesterday. There are now nine positive cases and seven suspects in the hospital. Most of them are from the city area. The general position must be regarded as more serious than it was on Thursday, said the medical officer of health at Auckland, Dr. L. S. Davis. He emphasised that parents must keep their children away from all crowded gatherings in the meantime.

As a precaution against the spread of the outbreak all primary schools, public and private, in the Auckland central health district arc to be closed as from Monday and all Sunday schools in the area arc to be closed as from tomorrow. The district extends ,to and includes Mercer in the south and Wellsford in the north.

Mr Davis pointed out that the difficulty of controlling an outbreak of infantile paralysis lay in the fact that it was estimated that 98 per cent of cases were of the abortive: or mild type and many of those could not even be definitely diagnosed. In many cases, also, people could become carriers without even developing the disease. Any child with a fever or any undiagnosed illness should be put to bed and kept at rest until seen by a doctor. The suggestion that secondary schools should be closed was made by the retiring chairman of the Auckland Hospital Board, Mr A. J. Moody, in a statement yesterday. He said he was delighted at the firm and decisive action taken by the Health Department authorities and the Minister of Health, Miss Howard, in closing the primary schools.

However, in his humble opinion the time had arrived for almost ruthless action, and he Would go so far as to suggest that all secondary schools in the district should close.

According to a message from New Plymouth two cases of infantile paralysis have been notified in the Taranaki health district. One occurred at Huiroa and the other tit Waitara. One is a child of three years and the other is six.