Provisional Information on Selected Notifiable Diseases in the United States for Week Ended January 17, 1953
The following reports have been received by the Influenza Information Center, NIH, and by the National Office of Vital Statistics.
Dr. S. S. Kalter, State University of New York, Syracuse, has reported an outbreak of clinical influenza with 35 cases in 3 days in a school in central New York State. From other sources the disease is reported to be mild, and no other outbreaks have been noted in the State. Material for laboratory tests is being obtained.
Dr. C. G. Loosli, University of Chicago, reports a sudden increase in prevalence of acute respiratory illness among students and faculty members, beginning about January 8. The illness has been characterized by sudden onset, general aches and pains, headache, conjunctivitis, and a nonproductive cough. Respiratory symptoms have been minimal. The leucocyte count has been normal to low and the duration of fever has been 48 to 72 hours. Material for specific diagnosis is being collected.
Dr. R. R. Cross, Illinois Director of Public Health, has been notified of an influenza-like disease in a community in Carroll County. The disease first began about the middle of December, and by the first of January an estimated 25 percent of the population had been ill. The disease was mild but characterized by chills, generalized aching, and cough, at temperatures of 101 to 103° F. In 6 other parts of northwestern Illinois the disease was preceded by an intestinal phase, and in a few cases a secondary pneumonia developed which was proved by X-ray. Five paired sera from Carroll County have been examined by the State Division of Laboratories and were shown to have significant titers against the A-prime type of virus.
Dr. E. H. Lennette, Regional Research Laboratory, California, reports the serologic diagnosis of influenza A in 6 recent cases, 5 of them among Navy personnel in the San Francisco area. A small number of cases has also been reported from other areas.
The Division of Preventive Medicine, Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, reports an increased incidence of respiratory disease in Naval establishments in Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Kansas, and California. The outbreak of respiratory disease at the Naval installation in Maryland is persisting, but no longer increasing. A-prime influenza virus has been identified by Dr. T. G. Ward, Johns Hopkins University, in throat washings taken at this base. A report from the Naval Research Unit No. 4, Great Lakes, showed that 8 of 56 paired sera obtained in November and December 1952, had a significant rise in hemagglutination inhibition titer to either or both the Lee strain and GL 704-52 strain of influenza B virus. There was no rise in A-prime antigens.
The Preventive Medicine Division, Air Force, reports that influenza has been identified by serologic tests recently in Air Force Bases in Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, and New Jersey. Influenza A- prime was reported in December in Air Force Bases in the United Kingdom, and also Germany and France. Reports from bases in Alaska indicate that there has been influenza-like disease among military and civilian personnel but specific diagnosis by laboratory tests is not yet available.
The Preventive Medicine Division, Army, reports that the
incidence of respiratory disease is decreasing in Army installa- tions in Missouri and New Jersey. Influenza A-prime has been identified in both places. There has been an increase in respira- tory disease rates at military installations in Georgia, New York, Louisiana, and Texas, while those in Virginia have remained the same. Serologic diagnoses for influenza A-prime have been reported from military installations in Virginia, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and California.
Dr. George W. Cox, Texas State Health Officer, has reported that influenza virus A-prime has been isolated from 3 patients in Texas by the State health department laboratory. Respiratory disease is widely prevalent in the State. Dr. D. S. Fleming, Minnesota Department of Health, reports that A-prime virus has been obtained from throat washings of a patient with clinical influenza, and that a mild type of influenza-like disease is wide- spread throughout the State. Dr. L. E. Burney, Indiana Health Commissioner, has reported an outbreak of respiratory disease in Earlham College. Approximately 100 cases were found on investigation. Dr. R. A. Vonderlehr, Regional Medical Director, Public Health Service, reports the occurrence of respiratory disease outbreaks in Memphis, and Jackson, Tennessee, and in a college in the same State. Dr. Milton Zises, New Mexico Department of Public Health, has sent notification of an outbreak of respiratory disease in Sante Fe. School absenteeism has been relatively high, and physicians report an unusually excessive number of persons with upper respiratory disease for this time of the year. Dr. A. M. Washburn, Arkansas State Board of Health, reports outbreaks of influenza-like disease in 11 counties. Absenteeism in schools in these areas varies from 5 to 15 percent. Dr. G. J. Van Heuvelen, South Dakota Health Officer, has reported nearly a hundred cases of influenza in an Indian School in Todd County. Dr. G. E. McDaniel, South Carolina Board of Health, states that a number of physicians in different parts of the State have reported an unusual number of cases of an influenza-like disease, especially in Columbia, Greenwood, and Bishopville. In some instances the patients have high fever and considerable headache and muscular aches. Reports on laboratory tests are not yet available. Dr. A. A. Jenkins, Utah Department of Health, reports that influenza-like disease has been prevalent in Utah for the past 2 or 3 weeks. Most of the 1,500 cases reported have been in Salt Lake County, but 11 of the 29 counties have reported some cases. The epidemic has generally been mild, but a few cases have been severe. Laboratory examination of specimens is in progress. Dr. W. R. Geidt, Washington State Department of Health, reports that outbreaks of acute respiratory disease have been reported from 3 counties. Dr. J. R. Enright, Hawaii Depart- of Health, reports a high incidence of respiratory disease since the last of December in Honolulu and Oahu. The disease has been characterized by sudden onset, fever, and severe aching pains. A laboratory test previously reported on sera which proved to be A-prime type of infection was from a patient who had acquired the disease in the Orient.
Based on reports received to date, it is evident that there is widespread prevalence of a mild type of influenza A-prime in many parts of the country, particularly, in the central part. Confirma- tion of diagnosis of A-prime influenza by virus isolations or sero- logic tests have been made in persons living or stationed in 12 central States and 4 along the eastern seaboard.
An increase of 19 percent occurred in the number of deaths from influenza and pneumonia reported by 58 cities for the week ended January 10. A total of 346 deaths was reported as compared with 291 for the previous week. The numbers reported for these cities by geographic division, with figures for the previous week in parentheses, were: New England, 27 (16); Middle Atlantic, 117 (103); East North Central, 57 (58); West North Central, 40 (32); South Atlantic, 29 (30); East South Central, 6 (14); West South Central, 26 (22); Mountain, 18 (6); and Pacific, 26 (10).
Dr. Morris Greenberg, New York City Department of Health, reports a case of Brill's disease in a 42-year-old man in Brooklyn. The patient was born in Poland and came to this country about 18 months ago. He does not recall having typhus fever while in Poland. He became ill the first of November with fever of 104° and severe frontal headache. Treatment with penicillin, strepto
mycin, and gantris in had no effect and the patient was admitted to the hospital on November 4. The next day small maculo-papular lesions were noted on the trunk, Fever dropped by crisis on this day to 100 without further treatment and gradually came down to normal, X-ray of the chest was negative. Blood and stool cultures were negative for pathogenic organisms. Blood agglutination test was positive with typhoid antigen in a dilution of 1:80, but negative with typhoid H antigen and with antigens of paratyphoid A and B, brucella and proteus OX 19. A blood specimen obtained on November 10 did not agglutinate proteus OX 19. Complement fixation was negative for Rocky Mountain spotted fever and for rickettsialpox. It was positive for epidemic typhus in a dilution of 1:256 and for endemic typhus in a dilution of 1:128. A second specimen was obtained on November 25. Complement fixation tests yielded the same results but agglutination with proteus OX 19 was positive in a dilution of 1:80.
Table 1. COMPARATIVE DATA FOR CASES OF SPECIFIED NOTIFIABLE DISEASES: UNITED STATES (Numbers after diseases are category numbers of the Sixth Revision of the International Lists, 1948)
Symbols.-1 dash [-]: no cases reported; asterisk [+] disease stated not notifiable; parentheses, [ in total; 3 dashes [---] data not available.
Table 2. CASES OF SPECIFIED DISEASES WITH COMPARATIVE DATA: UNITED STATES, EACH DIVISION AND STATE FOR WEEK ENDED JANUARY 17, 1953
(Numbers under diseases are category numbers of the Sixth Revision of the International Lists, 1948)
Table 2. CASES OF SPECIFIED DISEASES WITH COMPARATIVE DATA: UNITED STATES, EACH DIVISION and state FOR WEEK ENDED JANUARY 17, 1953—Continued
(Numbers under diseases are category numbers of the Sixth Revision of the International Lists, 1948)
Table 3. CASES OF SPECIFIED DISEASES: SELECTED CITIES FOR WEEK ENDED
(Numbers after diseases are category numbers of the Sixth Revision of the International Lists, 1948)
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