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The chart shows the number of deaths reported for 106 major cities of the United States by week for the current year, and, for comparison, the median of the number of deaths reported for the corresponding weeks of the three previous calendar years. (The median is the central one of the three values arranged in order of magnitude.) If a report is not received from a city in time to be included in the total for the current week, an estimate is made to maintain comparability for graphic presentation.

The figures reported represent the number of death certificates received in the vital statistics offices during the week indicated, for deaths occurring in that city. Figures compiled in this way, by week of receipt, usually approximate closely the number of deaths occurring during the week. However, differences are to be expected because of variations in the interval

between death and receipt of the certificate.

While week-to-week changes in the total number of deaths reported for all major cities generally represent a change in mortality conditions, this may not be true for variations in weekly figures for each city. For example, in a city where 50 deaths are the weekly average, the number of deaths occurring in a week may be expected to vary by chance alone from 36 to 64 (d ± 2Vd, where d represents the average number of deaths per week).

The number of deaths in cities of the same size may also differ because of variations in the age, race, and sex composition of their populations, and because some cities are hospital centers serving the surrounding areas. Changes from year to year in the number of deaths may be due in part to population increases or decreases.

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Provisional Information on Selected Notifiable Diseases in the United States for
Week Ended April 25, 1953

During the first 16 weeks of 1953 a total of 2,273 cases of
meningococcal infections has been reported as compared with
2,073 for the corresponding period of last year. Although the
number of reported cases for the current week is more than
that for the corresponding week of last year, figures for 4-week
periods indicate that the incidence of the disease for March and
April 1953 has been lower than it was during the corresponding
months of 1952. For the first two 4-week periods of 1953 the
incidence was about 30 percent higher than for corresponding
periods of last year.

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occurred in 35 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. A supplementary report shows that South Dakota experienced an estimated loss of 4 cattle-2 each in January and February. Infectious mononucleosis

Dr. M. H. Mires, Vermont State Department of Health, reports an outbreak of infectious mononucleosis. The first cases were in 2 college students who returned home for the Christmas holidays. Since that time 96 additional cases have been reported. The incubation period was from 4 to 14 days. Symptoms were fatigability, very marked at times and lasting from 2 to 16 weeks; headache, typically occurring in the occipital region and back of neck; extremity or chest pain; cervical lymphadenopathy, most marked in children; low fever, present only a few days following onset of the disease; and frequent sweats with or without fever. The greatest rise in the number of abnormal lymphocytes in blood smears seemed to occur after the tenth day and then to subside gradually. The heterophile agglutination was positive (1.224 or higher) in only a small percentage of the cases, and those positive did not maintain their titer more than a few days. Children and young adults accounted for most of the cases with only 15 percent in persons over 50 years of age.

Psittacosis

Dr. F. H. Wenthworth, Ohio Department of Health, reports 3 cases of illness clinically compatible with psittacosis among railway express messengers who have been associated with shipments of psittacine birds from the western States. One of the patients had a rise in titer from 1:4 to 1:256 with lygranum antigen. The second patient has shown no reaction with lygranum whatsoever, but the clinical diagnosis is psittacosis. An acute phase specimen from the third patient shows a titer of 1:10 with lygranum. The convalescent phase specimen has not yet been obtained.

The Division of Laboratories, Ohio Department of Health, reports the isolation of psittacosis virus from a parrot which had been purchased from an aviary in another State. The bird became ill a few days after arrival in Ohio and died shortly thereafter. The isolation of the virus has been confirmed by the Communicable Disease Center Virus Laboratory, Montgomery, Alabama. Investigation of the family contact failed to reveal any evidence of infection.

Dr. V. L. Ellicott, Montgomery County Health Officer, Maryland, has reported the recovery of psittacosis virus from a sick parakeet. The owner of the bird, an adult woman, is ill with symptoms suggestive of psittacosis but laboratory tests have not been completed. Investigation has revealed that several birds out of a total of 50 owned by the patient have died in the past few months.

Two other possible cases have been brought to the attention of the County Health Department. One is an 18-year-old boy who was exposed to a single parakeet that died. Laboratory examination of this bird is not completed. A child has also been reported to have suggestive symptoms following exposure to a sick parakeet. No relationship has yet been found between any of the above

cases.

Typhoid fever

Dr. F. H. Wentworth, Ohio Department of Health, reports 9 cases of typhoid fever in a settlement consisting of 30 homes. Surface sewage disposal was predominant and the water supply came from 13 wells, half of which were shallow dug. An investi gation was begun because of a report of 3 cases in 1 family. Subsequent investigation has shown that a 52-year-old woman, with a history of typhoid in 1932, moved into the settlement late in December of 1952. About the first of February she moved to another home in the settlement and the first of March she moved into a third home. A 9-year-old boy in the first home began a 2-week illness on January 20. No diagnosis was made, but at present he has titer of 1:320 with the "O" antigen typhoid agglutination. Illness began to occur in the second home on March 12, and a week later, cases began to occur in a fourth home. The only association with the other homes was through a common well.

Two cultures on this woman have been positive for typhoid bacilli. This organism and three other strains isolated from others who were ill are all bacteriophage type A. The well in question, was heavily contaminated with E. coli. The Division of Laboratories has also isolated typhoid bacilli from the well by the use of the membrane filter technique.

Infectious hepatitis

Dr. L. M. Schuman, Illinois Department of Public Health, reports an outbreak of infectious hepatitis which occurred between April 1 and 15. Eight cases have occurred among school children in a small rural community in the west central part of the State. Although this number is small in comparison with the total for the State as a whole, this localized outbreak was significant in that it was relatively explosive and confined to a small rural school. There was considerable community concern as to the spread of the disease throughout the rest of the school population. In addition to the other members of the households in which cases occurred there were 154 intimate exposures to the disease since the children, for the most part, remained in school during the early phase of their illness and until they were sent home by the school nurse for medical attention,

Because of the compactness of the group, the relatively isolated character of the community, the explosiveness of the outbreak, an experimental semi-mass community prophylactic program was instituted and 122 class room contacts to the cases were given gamma globulin within a period of 24 hours. Household contacts were also immunized. The results of this study will be given later.

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)

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Saturday. When the diseases which rarely occur (cholera, dengue, plague, typhus fever-epidemic, and yellow fever) are reported, they will be noted under the table above.

jash : no cases reportel; asterisk [•]: disease stated not notifiable; parentheses, data not included

: date not availabif.

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Table 2. CASES OF SPECIFIED DISEASES WITH COMPARATIVE DATA: UNITED STATES,
EACH DIVISION AND STATE FOR WEEK ENDED APRIL 25, 1953

(Numbers under diseases are category numbers of the Sixth Revision of the International Lists, 1948)

HEPATITIS,
INFECTIOUS,

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