DIPHTHERIA
Sir, —References in your columns- , have recently been made to the occurrence in Whakatane and district of cases of diphtheria during recent months, and the measures which • are being and have been, taken, by the medical practitioners in the area and the Hospital and Education . Authorities in conjunction with the Health Department to control the outbreak.
It should be realised 4 that ,of recent years ? few cases of diphtheria have occurred in the and that as a our child population has been built up that, is to say, most of the young children have not been exposed to the disease in any way, ami are relatively very susceptible.'The introduction of the diphtheria germ into such a population means that it. has a greater chance of spreading readily.
Diphtheria is not highly infectious and is spread to others in the main by "droplets" or spray from thq nose and throat of an infected person, produced in coughing, sneezing, talking.
Iri controlling the the measures adopted are isolation of cases and supervision of those persons who have been in fairly close contact with the case s together with the production in the population of a state of resistance to infection or "immunity." This is done by what is called immunisation, which consistsin the administration of two f or at most, three, injections of the material used for the purpose, and is simple and painless. It is important" to remember that the immunity produced by these injections does not become established until two or three months after the injections are completed, but when ter that time immunity estab-» lished as a result the child is un-
likely to develop the disease j or should it do so it is extremely un-i likely that the child will fail to recover. Immunisation is now being carried out by the doctors in the district and this Department is coh operating. Parents are strongly advised to have their parti--cularly children of tender protected. Young children are larly susceptible to diphtheria and it is amongst them that the death rate is highest. By if the public co-operates, it is hoped that in a few months time the child population of 6 Whakatane and dis-i trict will be resistant to at which time the incidence of the disease will almost certainly decrease. A grave there-i fore, rests on parents to have their children they are strongly urged to co-operate. Yours etc. W. CAMPBELL i DAVIDSON; Medical Officer of Health.
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Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 68, 27 April 1945, Page 4
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411DIPHTHERIA Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 68, 27 April 1945, Page 4
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