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Injfot&nza.—Only the more severe forms of influenza are notifiable, and the notified cases during 1949 were 14. Of these cases, 12 occurred in the Palmerston North district and included a group of cases of unusual type. During the latter half of August 6 cases were admitted to a country hospital, and included one child four years of age and five infants aged from three and a half months to eighteen months. One infant died two days after admission, and three died on the days they were admitted to hospital. Postmortem examinations were made in these cases, and showed numerous hsemorrhagic patches on the lung tissue but without evidence of consolidation. In the opinion of the pathologist, death was due to an unusually virulent type of influenzal infection causing such intense toxaemia that death occurred before there was time for the development of typical influenzal broncho-pneumonia. The pathologist stated that he had recently seen two similar cases in young babies that had shown loss of appetite and fretfulness followed by convulsions, coma, and death. In these cases also the post-mortem findings in the central nervous system were negative, and only slight pathological changes were found in the lungs. The infants referred to above came from widely scattered homes. A certain amount ( f mild influenza was prevalent in the district at that time. •Puerperal Sepsis.—The notified cases (Europeans, 47; Maoris, 5) showed a * ( nsiderable reduction in the case of Europeans on the figures for previous years. The sulphonamide drugs have played an important part in reducing the incidence of puerperal fever. Poliomyelitis.—The epidemic which began in explosive fashion in November, 1947, continued throughout 1948, and cases were still occurring in considerable numbers when last year's report was written. During July there was a noticeable drop in notifications, and for record purposes it was considered that the epidemic ended in that month. Cases mostly of a mild nature continued to occur during the remainder of the year r particularly in the Auckland district. The total cases for the year 1949 were 355 (Europeans, 346 ; Maoris, 9). A report of the whole outbreak from November, 1947, to July, 1949, is published as an Appendix to the Departments' report. Baeillary Dysentery. —Maori cases notified were 39 —a drop on the numbers occurring in previous years. The majority of these cases occurred in the Grisborne district, where the disease has a stubborn endemicity. The European cases numbered 116, and 102 of these occurred in a private boarding-school. Infection appears to have been introduced by an unsuspected carrier who was engaged for casual work in the kitchen. Shortly after her arrival a large number of both staff and pupils were affected. Unfortunately, the infection was carried over to a second school term by a symptomless carrier and interfered considerably with the ordinary routine of the school. The micro-organism concerned was Shigella flexneri. Amoebic Dysentery.—This disease continues to be unduly prevalent, and was notified in 46 males and 5 females —all Europeans. Food Poisoning.—There were 111 cases reported (Europeans, 104; Maoris, 7). There were six outbreaks involving 3 persons or more, as well as a number of single cases notified as food poisoning. An outbreak occurred in the maternity annexe of a public hospital and affected 5 patients and 7 members of the nursing and domestic staffs. The causative organism was S. aertrycke, and evidence pointed to a bread custard meringue as being the probable vehicle of infection. The eggs used were hen eggs. The milk vendor supplying the hospital had had a suspicious illness a day or two before, but his faeces were free from the causative organism, and none of his other numerous customers was affected. A housemaid on the hospital staff was found to be a carrier of S. aertrycke, and as she had been helping in the kitchen and had not herself suffered any symptoms of food poisoning, it appeared probable that she was the cause of the outbreak.

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