Report of the City Health Department / City of Winnipeg.

Winnipeg (Man.). Health Department.

Date:: [1936]

Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the City Health Department / City of Winnipeg. Source: Wellcome Collection.

13/108 (page 11)

Secondary to Suspect Cases—Following the sickness of a boy who had been seen by two physicians during his illness and who showed no paralysis, a sister, sixteen years old, developed Poliomyelitis six days after the boy’s first symptom. She died on the third day of her illness. In another instance1 a thirteen year old boy developed Poliomyelitis as the result of contact to a brother who had been treated as a suspect seven days earlier. The thirteen year old boy had a definite paralysis before the doctor was called. Two or More Cases in Same Home—Two cases when symptoms were only twenty-four hours apart developed in boys, ages six and three (bro¬ thers). A cousin from St. Norbert, Man., who visited at the home, also developed the disease. There had been contact between the families ten days prior to symptoms of the first case. Two children, girl nine, boy four, brother and sister, removed to hospital same day, diagnosis of Poliomyelitis in the boy, girl remained a suspect. Two children, brother and sister, ages seven and nine*. Symptoms four days apart, sister declared a case. Suspect Cases—Cases treated as Poliomyelitis suspects totalled one hundred and forty-one. Of this number one hundred and forty were admitted to the King George Hospital for treatment; the final disposi¬ tion of which was as follows:— Three were definitely treated and admitted to the classification of Poliomyelitis; thirty patients within varying periods of time developed definite symptoms of infection or disease other than Poliomyelitis, whilst one hundred and eight remained in the original classification of suspect and include one treated at home. A table is attached to this report showing length of stay in hospital of the one hundred and eight patients admitted as suspects. According to reports it has been pretty well accepted that low cell count is not reliable when we want to discount Poliomyelitis. We must therefore depend upon treatment of all suspect cases on a safe basis, that is, the treating as Poliomyelitis all those which cannot be safely ruled out. In reviewing suspect cases recorded in August, one had sickened while in camp at Selkirk, another had visited Grand Beach ten days prior to symptoms, the remaining three had not been out of the city. They were spread to extreme ends) of the city; two in Ward One; two in Ward Two and one in Ward Three. They had no relation to the districts from which the four definite cases were reported during the month. Length of stay in hospital varied from one to fourteen days. Illness reported in the homes of suspect cases totalled sixteen. Com¬ plaints registered in oth:r members of the household included tonsilitis, influenza, colds and sore throat. In reviewing the table showing length of stay in hospital of all suspects, it is interesting to note that' almost eighty percent, were dis¬ charged from hospital within ten, days. Just what relationship these cases bear to the cases reported is still in doubt, but it would appear to suggest the1 presence of large numbers of unapparent cases during an outbreak of this disease.