SUSPECTED CASES OF POLIOMYELITIS

Press, Volume C, Issue 29502, 2 May 1961, Page 18

SUSPECTED CASES OF POLIOMYELITIS

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, May 1

Thirteen notifications of suspected poliomyelitis were received by the Health Department for the week ended on April 29. The figure was the same as that for the previous week. All the latest notifications are from North Island health districts. They are: Gisborne 2. Hamilton 4. Rotorua 2. Auckland 2, and Takapuna 3.

An Auckland report of April 20 said there were 22 poliomyelitis cases in the Auckland Hospital Ten suspected eases were notified for New Zealand for the week ended April 15.

All were in the North Island. This was also so with the four suspected cases notified for the week ended April 8.

Only four confirmed eases of polio were notified for the whole of New Zealand last year, against IB in 1959. Health Department figures

for cases in other years showed a sharp increase from 43 in 1954 to 703 in 1955. and 897 cases in 1956.

Thereafter, an equailyabrnpt decrease was noted, with a drop to 63 cases in 1957, and 57 cases in 1958. One death has been confirmed from the disease this year, in the New Plymouth health district. There were no deaths from poliomyelitis in New* Zealand last year, but one in 1959

Deaths in New Zealand from acute poliomyelitis for other recent years, as given in the department’s annual reports, were 6 in 1958, 2 in 1957, 51 in 1956. and 29 in 1955. No death was reported in 1954.

Commenting on the increased deaths from the disease in 1956. th? 1959 report said it was of interest that none of the deaths occurred in the vaccinated age groups of from five to 15 years.