Heilbrigðisskýrslur - 01.12.1980, Page 135

first half of the year, so that a mid-year peak would not be unexpected.
In contrast, the post-war waves have starting months more randomly
spread through the year.
In many of the physicians' reports published in Heilbrigðisskýrslur
between 1896 and 1945, there is a discussion of the economic importance
of measles in relation to the farming and fishing calendars. For example,
measles was carried to Mýrdals from Reykjavík in June 1916 and "although
precautions were not officially taken, many homesteads did their best
to protect themselves and tried not to contract the disease at haymaking"
(Heilbrigðisskýrslur, 1911-20, p. 71). At Stokkseyri, also in June
1916, stress is laid on avoiding loss of manpower at haymaking. Where
a community felt the onset of the disease was inevitable, an attempt
might be made to bring the infection forward to a more convenient t ime.
Thus, the Borgarfjarðar report for 1916 records that, in May, "measles
attacked 33 to 34 farms; some of them wanted to get it over, and what
is more even sought it" (Heilbrigðisskýrslur, 1911-20, p. 69). In all
probability, this communal activity of haymaking, peaking in June, was
important in spreading the virus through the farming communities which
formed the largest segment of the susceptible populatlon up to 1945, and
helps to account for the June peak of measles cases shown in Figure 5B.
The fact that this June peak is absent from the seasonal pattern since
1945 may reflect the relative decrease in importance of the agricultural
sector of the Icelandic economy since that date. The persistent winter
peak of cases over the whole period, 1900-70, can be associated with
levels of crowding within school classrooms and the rapid spread within
institutions.
Figure 6 illustrates the seasonal effect in a different way. On this
diagram, all the movements of index cases between medical districts
recorded in the physicians' reports in Heilbrigðisskýrslur have been
ordered on a monthly basis. The mushrooming of contacts in May is
striking. These fall steadily throughout the summer and autumn to a
winter quiet period. Since most of the information in Heilbrigðisskýrsl-
ur about movement of index cases relates to the period 1900-45, Figure 6
can be interpreted in part in terms of the improved possibilities for
travel during the summer months; the May peak of contacts is consistent
with the June maximum of cases, 1900-44, shown in Figure 5B.
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