Annual report of the Board of Control : 6th, 1919.

Date:: 1919

Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Annual report of the Board of Control : 6th, 1919. Source: Wellcome Collection.

53/272 (page 44)

•r neither of which a history of dysentery existed, hut in both of which signs of old chronicity were found post mortem. In February, 1 Radcliffe case was attacked; he recovered, but relapsed, and died in March, when old chronic dysentery was found post mortem in addition to the acute. In June a home case arose, in July a Radclih'e case, and in November a home case. In the male infirmary an isolated case occurred in each of the months May, June and July, then 9 arose in October-November, the whole 12 being in one dormitory where, during most of the year, a feeble Radcliffe case was lying. He died in November, and old chronic post-mortem signs were found. Since his death no cases have arisen in this ward. The other 5 cases were sporadic and unexplained, 3 in the male turbulent ward (1 in July, 2 in November), 1 in the convalescent ward in July, and 1 in a chronic working ward in November. Analysis of Female Cases.—Twenty-two persons were attacked, of whom 10 were relapses, ail segregated. Every one of the remaining 12 was a sporadic case. They occurred as follows :—■ One in the admission ward, 2 in the epileptic ward, 2 in the convalescent ward, 3 in the infirmary and 4 in the phthisis ward. In no case did an interval of less than 2 months arise between any two cases in each ward, which seems to indicate a single carrier. It should be noted that this year we have included in our clinical records, and therefore in the total, any discovered post-mortem* who had no life signs, except 3 women in which there was merely superficial intestinal congestion. I had hoped to give the Board full bacteriological reports of the number of cases remaining in the Asylum, because in July 1919 the Committee approved of the establishment of a small laboratory. Delay occurred over the delivery of the apparatus, and then of the media. We are still in trouble over the electrica^ supply to the sterilizer and incubator, and only last night (6th January 1920) a fourth series of cultures died of cold The method upon which we proceed is that all known old cases and contacts have their blood tested for agglutination against a stock polyvalent serum. Those which are positive in greater dilution than 1 : 20 are to have their faeces examined seven or eight times. This is the same method which is being followed in those involved in the typhoid outbreak, but these cultures also have been killed by electrical supply derangements—we have no other source of heat. Fast Sussex Asylum (Dr. Taylor).—There was a slight outbreak in January, the cases occurring in (Male) Hospital, ground floor (chiefly), G.l and H.l and H.2 (Female), chiefly infirmary wards, debilitated patients, ground floor. The patients were treated with B. Naphthol and Salines. Two patients who suffered from dysentery during the year had previously had an attack of diarrhoea. Female cases suffering from dysentery are treated in A.l ward and retained there until all acute symptoms have subsided. Patients on the male side are treated in G.l ward. The precautions to prevent the spread of dysentery recommended by the Board of Control in their circular letter of January last have been adopted, and judging from the small number of cases v/hich have occurred since, these precautions would appear to be efficacious. An exhaustive study of dysentery in Wakefield Asylum by Dr. Shaw Bolton will be found in the Supplement to this Report, see p. 93. u 0.39 B