まえがき　  河又松次郎  Preface by Mr. Kawamata


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河叉松次郎
Preface from Mr. Matsujiro Kawamata, the photographer of this picture book

　去年の春以来北海道全域をおそった,恐るべき小児マヒは,その根源地ともいわれた夕張市を中心に,赤平,歌志内など付近の炭鉱地帯をナメつくし西北と東南にのび,全道各地へ目に見えぬ洪水のようにひろがり,12月20日現在で罹患者1641人,うち106人の死亡者を出し,こどもを持つ親はもちろん全道民を恐怖のどん底に陥いれました。
The terrible infantile paralysis has been hitting Hokkaido since Spring last year. It began from the so called origin, Yubari-city, reached Akabira-city, Utashinai-city. They are coal towns. It went to west north and south east. It also spread to whole Hokkaido island like an unvisible flood. The patients number as of December 20, 1960 was 1,641 including 106 deaths. All the Hokkaido people, not only the parents who have children, got to hell of terror.

　旭川市の小児マヒ患者の発生は例年６,７人ぐらいを例としていますが,昨年最初の発生が3月24日,その後3名発生し,7月にはいってから急激に増加して月末には17人,8月末には一躍59人,9月末では93人となり,11月末には101人と累増し,市外居住者のうち旭川市の病院で小児マヒと決定したものを含めますと147人,うち8人が死亡しました。8月下旬になれば下火になるだろうという予想も裏切られ患者は続発し,それに年令層も生後4ヵ月から26才までにおよび,1家に姉妹2人がつづいて発病するなど７月にはいってからはほとんど連日発生し,8月には１日に4人も発生をみました。市衛生課の市内地図に赤丸で書き入れたのを見ましても、ほとんど図面が真赤になっているという異状な発生ぶりを示したわけです。
The number of patients of infantile paralysis in Asahikawa-city has been 6 to 7 every year. The first case last year was March 24. Three followed. It rose suddenly in July and at the end of the month 17. At the end of August, 59, September 93, October 101. Including the outsiders of Asahikawa-city, who were diagnosed as infantile paralysis, 147 including 8 deaths.
Everybody estimated that it would be cool down at the end of August, but it was betrayed. Patients continued. The age ranged from 4 month to 26 years old widely. There was a case that a girl and her sister from one family. Since July, almost everyday new patients occured. In one day of August, there were the cases of 4 patients.　It was an abnormal epidemic that the map in the hygiene division of Asahikawa city office was mostly marked with red circle.

　小児マヒ患者が1人発生すると周囲の者が100人から200人はすでに何らかのかたちで感染しているといわれており,これらの人々が学校なり職場なりから家庭へ持ち帰り,免疫のないこどもたちを発病させることになるのでしょうか。市の調査でも外交員とか,出張の多い人,他人の出入りの多い家庭に多発の傾向があるといわれています。どこからどのようにひろがっていくものか,その足跡さえ明確にはつかめない状態です。
It is said that there are 100-200 hidden patients around one patient found. Do they bring the disease to schools, homes and offices and infect the children without immunity? According to the survey by city office, there seems to be the tendency that there are more patients among people who work for sales, having many business trips and going around. There is no evidence how it spread.

　一方発病患者は市立病院と日赤病院に隔離されましたが,隔離病棟のどの病室も満員で廊下の片隅を臨時治療室にあてるなど,ときならぬ混雑ぶりをしめし,小児マヒはそのほとんどがいたいけない幼児が対象だけに多くのお母さんたちは恐怖におののいていました。また小児マヒを始めから「小児マヒ」だと診断できる人がいたら,その人は世界の至宝でもあり”最高の名医”だといわれるほどに小児マヒの診断はむずかしいようです。多くの場合初診では「かぜ」といわれる場合が多く,そんなことからも多くの感染者を出すことになるのかも知れません。
On the other hand, the patients were isolated to City Hospital and Red Cross Hospital. All the isolation rooms were full. Some corridors were used for temporary patient room. It was a strange crowd. Infantile paralysis threatened the mothers, because the victims were pure infants.
The medical doctors who can diagnose the patients exactly as "Infantile Paralysis" is a treasure of the world. It is quite difficult. Most cases, the patients are diagnosed as "Cold" at first. This is one cause of many patience occuring.

　死亡した幼児のほとんどが呼吸マヒをともなっているようですが,小児マヒの病状のうちでもっとも恐ろしい呼吸マヒを起したら「鉄の肺」の力を借りなければ助かりません。道内でもっとも多発した7月上旬頃には「鉄の肺」はたった1台しかなく,道北地区にただひとつの「鉄の肺」が旭川の日赤病院にきたのは8月下旬でした。
Most infants died seemed to have breathing paralysis. If the patients show the terrible breathing paralysis, they cannnot survive without help of the "Iron Lung." At the beginning of July when the epidemic was severest in Hokkaido, there was only one Iron Lung. It was only the end of August when the only one Iron Lung in northern Hokkaido came to Asahikawa Red Cross Hospital

　”悪魔の使徒”ともいわれた小児マヒの爆発的発生は,今年もまた昨年以上の流行が予想されており,今年の流行期には間に合わないともいわれているワクチンの問題,小児マヒによる後遺症の増加を含めた北海道における肢体不自由児の現状と,その療育施設など,今後に多くの問題が残されています。
The explosion of infantile paralysis was called "Apostle of Devil" . This year it is estimated to happen again more than last year. The preparation of vaccine is said to be delayed for this year epidemic. The situation of handicapped children including the increase of hangover patients. Their rehabilitation centers. There are a lot of problems for the future.