FURTHER CASES NOTIFIED IN AUCKLAND

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26631, 29 November 1947, Page 6

FURTHER CASES NOTIFIED IN AUCKLAND

INFANTILE PARALYSIS

PRIMARY SCHOOLS CLOSED p.A. AUCKLAND, Nov. 28. As a precaution against the spread of infantile paralysis, all primary schools, public and private, and also Sunday schools, in the Auckland Central health district are to 1 be closed as from Monday. The district extends to and includes Mercer in the south and Wellsford in the north. The instruction was issued by the Director-gen-eral of Health in Wellington, Dr T. R. Ritchie. Another decision made was that no children under the age of 12 were to enter theatres or other places of public amusement until further notice. One poliomyelitis victim died at the Auckland Hospital at about 4 o’clock this afternoon. He was a 27-year-old married man. Two more positive and four suspected cases were reported to-day. There are now nine positive cases and seven suspects in Auckland Hospital. Most of them are from the city area. The medical officer of health at Auckland, Dr L. S. Davis, said the person who died was from the beginning a very bad case in which the respiratory muscles were paralysed. It was fortunately a very rare form of poliomyelitis, and none of the other cases showed any signs of developing that particular form. The general position must be regarded as more serious that it was on Thursday, said Dr Davis. He emphasised that parents must keep their children away from all crowded gatherings in the meantime.