[Report 1968] / Medical Officer of Health, Dublin City.

  • Dublin (Ireland). City Council
Date:
1968
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1968] / Medical Officer of Health, Dublin City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    28% of notified cases were hospitalised as compared with 1 1 % of measles and 25% of pertussis—at present much more serious diseases. (One death from measles and no death from pertussis). The streptoccoccus that causes scarlet fever in one person may cause a sore throat without a rash, or even skin or wound sepsis in another. The significant factor as far as such persons are concerned is the presence of the streptococci rather than the rash. Yet it is the rash that decides the issue in favour of hospitalisation. This is but to continue—perhaps rather slavishly—the tradition of earlier years when scarlet fever was a killing disease. Because of its present mildness, a problem for consideration is whether it needs the extent of hospitalisation is still receives in Dublin. Infective Hepatitis 562 notifications were received during the year, an incidence of 0.7 per 1,000 population. 246 (44%) were treated in hospital. There were no deaths. The notifications were in the following age groups ; Years Years Years Years 0—4 5—9 10—14 Over 14 87 257 85 133 The disease, which is caused by a virus, presents itself in varying degrees of severity from being asymptomatic (often in children), through vague ill-health without observable jaundice, to intense icterus with severe hepatitis. 36 familes had 2 cases, 9 had 3 cases, 2 had 4 cases, 2 had 5 cases and 1 had 8 cases. From an epidemiological viewpoint, however, the first case of jaundice is not necessarily the first of hepatitis, and if virus investigation was possible, more cases, especially among house- hold contacts, would undoubtedly be unearthed. While there is no death recorded this year, nevertheless if infection be severe or prolonged, cirrhosis of the liver may result in later years. Also virus may be present in the blood stream before and after manifest illness, and blood taken from a donor in this state could cause hepatitis in a recipient. This disease has been statutorily notifiable in this country since 1948 and in Britain from this year. At a meeting of the Regional Office for Europe, of the World Health Organisation in Prague in September-October 1964, it was considered that more precise notification was needed to permit a compaiison of national incidence in Europe. The view was expressed that control measures must be based on the fact that the disease is usually conveyed via the alimentary tract and that, apart from