Annual report of the Department of Public Health and the Central Board of Health / South Australia.

  • South Australia. Department of Public Health.
Date:
[1964]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Department of Public Health and the Central Board of Health / South Australia. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    17/32 (page 17)
    Summary of work done in Childrens’ Welfare Institutions:— Children examined. 367 Children offered treatment. 367 Children accepting treatment. 367 Fillings inserted. 1,826 Extractions. 273 Other treatments. 610 Number of visits for treatment. 1,119 Number of institutions visited. 7 Average treatments required per child were as follows:— Fillings. 5.0 Extractions. 7 Other. 1.7 Surveys.—No surveys were conducted this year due to the fact that the senior dentist was occupied in the Far North endeavouring to maintain treatment of children already begun in 1963. 4. POLIOMYELITIS BRANCH ADMINISTRATION AND PERSONNEL In 1964, a number of changes occurred in the Poliomyelitis Branch. The new buildings had been in use for the full year and this increase in space has been most beneficial. It is now possible to give all injections within the main building so that the caravan previously used for this is now reserved for sterilizing equipment and visits to other establishments. Because of the success of the Salk campaign, the number of cases of poliomyelitis has fallen dramatically. This has been reflected in the amount of rehabilitation work. Few new patients were coming forward and the satisfactory results achieved over the years in others made it possible to discontinue this service altogether, and to transfer those patients remaining to other centres for their treatment. From time to time, inquiries are made by former patients, or new patients seeking treatment, but these are few and alternative arrangements are made. In April, Salk vaccine was released for use by private doctors among their patients. This has been an innovation which has caused some alteration in the general pattern of immunization procedure. Details relating to this change are given below. In July, Dr. R. R. Horton, who had been in charge since before the inception of the salk campaign, resigned to take another appointment, and Dr. B. H. Jeanes was appointed Principal Medical Officer. Since his appointment, Dr. Jeanes has visited Melbourne to study the manufacture of Salk vaccine, and in November, went to Tasmania to observe the use of Sabin oral vaccine amongst the school children there. CASES REPORTED Only two cases of poliomyelitis were reported in 1964 (11 in 1963). TABLE 12 Case No. Sex Age Specimens Virus Doses of Taken Isolated Salk received 1 . Male 48 years Yes No 0 2 . Male 12 years Yes No 3 Neither of these cases was finally considered to be due to poliomyelitis, and in 1964, for the first time in over 20 years, no case of poliomyelitis occurred in South Australia. In association with Case No. 1, which occurred in a country town, a study was undertaken among children attending kindergarten in the town. With the co-operation of the mothers, faecal specimens were obtained from 31 children and blood specimens from seven in whom the faecal specimens had given some indication of virus growth. From only one of these children was a virus (coxsackie A9) finally isolated. The final result, while not dramatic, was reassuring in that poliomyelitis virus was not circulating in that particular community at the time. Polomyelitis virus was not isolated from any source in South Australia during 1964. C