First Paralysis Death In Waikato District

Northern Advocate, 10 January 1948, Page 4

First Paralysis Death In Waikato District

HAMILTON, Sat. (Sp.)— A child of three months, from Taupiri, died in the Waikato Hospital yesterday from Infantile paralysis. This is the first death from this cause in the South Auckland health district.

A girl of 17 from Hamilton and a boy of 13 from Horotiu, who had boon admitted to the Waikato Hospital as suspects, have been diagnosed as positive eases.

A further suspect from Mangakino, a girl of eight, has been admitted to hospital. Ten positive cases have been discharged and they had either recovered or at most suffered only slight paralysis. None of the remaining 16 cases is described as serious. NEW AUCKLAND CASE One more positive case of infantile paralysis has occurred in the central Auckland health district. The patient is a child from the North Shore who was admitted to the Auckland Hospital on Thursday as a suspect. This is the third positive case from the North Shore. No cases were admitted to hospital yesterday and two more patients have been discharged, leaving 51 positive and four suspect cases in hospital last night. Since the outbreak began, 87 positive cases have been reported in the central Auckland district.

No further cases of infantile paralysis were reported in Wellington yesterday. The acting medical officer of health (Dr J. P. Kennedy) said that Wellington was now free of both positive and suspected cases. The number of positive cases in the Dominion reported since the outbreak in Auckland on November 15 has now reached 143.