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94
Ophthalmia Neonatorum.
(Inflammation of the Eyes of the Newly-born.)
The London County Council made an Order, which came into
operation on March 13th, 1911, requiring the notification by medical
practitioners of Ophthalmia Neonatorum. This disease is one of the
frequent causes of blindness, and therefore inflicts considerable loss on
the community. Twelve cases were notified in Hampstead during the
year. All cases reported are promptly visited by a lady sanitary
inspector. In order to prevent the disease resulting in loss of eyesight
it is necessary that the patient should be properly nursed, and the chief
object of notification is to facilitate the provision of skilled nursing.
A further step was taken in the attempt to check this disease by
the Public Health (Ophthalmia Neonatorum) Regulations, 1914, which
were issued by the Local Government Board on 5th February, 1914,
and came into operation on 1st April, 1914. Ophthalmia Neonatorum is
therein defined as " a purulent discharge from the eyes of an infant, commencing
within twenty-one days of the date of its birth." Under the
provisions of these Regulations medical practitioners, when notifying cases
of Ophthalmia Neonatorum under the Public Health (London) Act, 1891,
are required to supplement the information usually given on the ordinary
infectious disease notification certificate forms by particularsrelating to:(1)
Date of Birth; (2) Name and address of parent or other person, if any,
having charge of the child ; and (3) Date of onset of disease.
By Article VI. of these Regulations it is provided that " every
certified midwife who has reasonable grounds for supposing that a child
upon whom she is in attendance or whom she is called in to visit in the
course of her practice is suffering from Ophthalmia Neonatorum, shall,
unless the case has been already notified by a medical practitioner,
forthwith make and sign a notification of the case in form set out in the
Schedule of these Regulations, and shall transmit the notification to the
Medical Officer of Health for the District within which the place of
residence of the parent or other person, if any, having charge of the
child is situate at the date of notification."
Principal Epidemic Diseases.
The principal epidemic diseases to which reference is here made
are: —
Enteric Fever Scarlet Fever
Small-Pox Whooping Cough
Measles Diphtheria