POLIOMYELITIS OUTBREAK

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27928, 27 March 1956, Page 14

POLIOMYELITIS OUTBREAK

93 POSITIVE CASES IN CHRISTCHURCH

ADMISSIONS SINCE DECEMBER

Since last December, 93 positive cases of poliomyelitis have been admitted to the Christchurch Public Hospital. Of these, six have died. The latest death was a youth aged 17, from Darfield, who died at the hospital on Sunday. During the week-end, two suspected cases were admitted, and one of them —a 10-year-old girl from Coalgate—has since proved to be a positive case. Eleven cases of poliomyelitis—nine positive and two suspect—were notified in the Christchurch-Greymouth health district for the week ended March 24. Other infectious diseases notified—all of which were from Christchurch, were: tuberculosis. 8: eclampsia, 2: salmonellosis. 2; puerperal sepsis, 2; tetanus.* 1. There was one death from tuberculosis in the Christchurch area.

POLIOMYELITIS VACCINE

NEW ZEALAND’S INTEREST IN BRITISH SCHEME (New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, March 26.

By July of this year, when Britain had ended its summer campaign of inoculations against poliomyelitis, New Zealand should know when it would be able to get supplies of the vaccine from England, said the Deputy-Director-General of Health (Dr. H. B. Turbott) today. Although Australia was making its own supplies of the vaccine, the first batch had not yet been finished or tested, so it was unlikely that New Zealand’s first supply would come from there, he said.