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) 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) 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 certifi cates 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. Provisional Information on Selected Notifiable Diseases in the United States for The total number of poliomyelitis cases reported for the The cumulative total for the "disease year" is 18,825 as Thirty-four deaths were reported by 9 States as follows: EPIDEMIOLOGICAL REPORTS Third National Boy Scout Jamboree-Sanitation en route. Mr. E. C. Garthe, Interstate Carrier Branch, Public Health Service, has prepared a preliminary report on one of the phases of the sanitation program that was designed to protect the Boy Scouts against food and water-borne disease outbreaks while en route from all parts of the country to the Irving Ranch near Santa Ana, California, and on return to their homes. Nearly 30,000 boys and their leaders traveled to and from the Jamboree on 85 special trains and spent an average of 3 to 5 days each way. It is estimated that about 1,000,000 meals were served during the movement. Most of these were eaten in diners or Army kitchen cars attached to the trains; some were loaded onto trains as box lunches; others were served from temporary facilities set up at stopover points in city parks and on station platforms; and the rest were furnished at local hotels or restaurants at stopover points. The Public Health Service conducted an intensive program whereby each train was inspected at various points throughout its itinerary. Special attention was given to sources of food and water supplies, refrigeration facilities and other kitchen equipment, and personal cleanliness of food-handling employees. Single service utensils were recommended and were used on most of the trains. Local health authorities inspected stopover feeding facilities referred to above. A total of 385 inspections was made of coach and pullman cars, 410 of dining and kitchen facilities, and 278 samples of water were examined bacteriologically. A very insignificant number of the water samples examined were found to be unsatisfactory. Railroads were, as a rule, very cooperative in providing facilities and conducting operations in a manner which would protect the health of the boys. This is considered to be all the more remarkable since it constituted one of the largest movements of civilians in such a short period of time, and because it taxed the facilities of the railroads at the peak of the summer tourist travel. Only 2 relatively small food-borne outbreaks have been reported to date, both of which occurred during the westbound trip. One involved 5 persons in a Troop fröm a western State which consisted of 34 boys and 1 adult. They were ill with diarrhea and fever while on the train or shortly after arrival. A salmonella organism, type not yet determined, was isolated from the stools of 1 boy. Infection is presumed to have taken place on the train, although they had one meal in several different restaurants of one city during a stopover. Five others in the Troop who had mild gastric upsets, but no diarrhea or fever, were not considered to be cases of salmonellosis. The other outbreak occurred on a train carrying 800 boys from Ohio. Stops were made in Chicago, Kansas City, and Grand Canyon. A total of 35 boys, all in the rear of the train, became ill with cramps and diarrhea at or after leaving Grand Canyon. Inspection showed that refrigeration facilities were very poor in the Army field kitchen car attached to the rear of the train. After the outbreak it was found that the cook had an infection on his hand. This was a staphylococcic food poison outbreak with roast beef, which was served on the train, as the vehicle of infection. The same type of organism was isolated from lesions on the hand of the cook. Botulism Dr. L. M. Schuman, Illinois Department of Public Health, reports 2 cases of botulism. A man and his sister became ill 12 hours after they had eaten home canned head cheese. The symptoms in one case were nausea, vomiting, and slight diarrhea which lasted a half day. The patient complained of extreme fatigue. His sister complained of fatigue, disturbance of vision, very dry mouth at times, constipation, and difficulty in urinating. She was only slightly nauseated and did not vomit. No laboratory study was made but it was stated that botulinus antitoxin was administered and that both patients are making a satisfactory recovery. Rabies in man Dr. B. M. Drake, Kentucky Department of Health, reports that a 17-year-old youth was bitten by his dog about the first of May. Rabies was not suspected and thus the dog was not examined for the disease. The victim became violently ill about the middle of July and died 4 days later. The case was diagnosed clinically as rabies but no laboratory study was ever made. Leptospirosis Dr. A. C. Hollister, Jr., California Department of Public Health, reports a case of leptospirosis in a 57-year-old woman. The symptoms were chills, fever, headache, sore neck, and stiff back. The patient lived on a farm and was exposed to 100 cattle, 3 dogs, and 2 horses. Specimens submitted for laboratory test were positive for L. canicola. Although none of the animals on the farm had been sick, a laboratory test on specimens from one of the dogs was positive for the same organism. Interstitial pneumonia Dr. Hollister reports 4 fatal cases of interstitial pneumonia in 4 premature infants in a hospital in California. Early in July a mother died at the hospital with acute hemorrhagic interstitial penumonia. The next day the first premature infant developed diarrhea and died. Later, 2 more infants in the same nursery became ill and died. By the 3d of August, 2 additional cases including 1 death had been reported. A similar case occurred in an 18-month-old child who lived in the same area but had never been in this hospital. Various specimens were collected but the laboratory study has not yet been completed. THE LIBRARY OF THE SEP 10100 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS |