View report page

16
Seasonal prevalence.—The following table shows the numbers of cases notified in each fourweekly
period during 1930.

Diphtheria Carriers.—There is a clinic for diphtheria carriers held at St. Mary's Hospital,
but only a small number of cases attend during the course of a year. These are mostly
contacts of acute diphtheria cases sent by medical practitioners for treatment.
Anti-Diphtheritic Serum.—This is stocked at the Town Hall and supplied to medical
practitioners on request for the use of patients who are too poor to obtain such serum
privately. During the year 31 phials of 4,000 units and 38 phials of 500 units were distributed.
Schick Test.—During the year this test was applied to 65 children in an Orphanage in
the Borough. Twenty-seven children proved to be susceptible and were immunised against
diphtheria.
SMALLPOX.
Four cases of this disease were brought to notice during the year. Of these three were
notified, the remaining case being that of a resident of another Borough attending a hospital
in Paddington.
The prevailing type of smallpox does not exhibit a high degree of infectiousness but
inasmuch as between four and five thousand cases of smallpox were reported during the year
in other parts of London, mainly the East End, the freedom from smallpox which Paddington
enjoyed is very satisfactory. It speaks well for the care and vigilance exercised by the
authorities in the boroughs mainly affected.
During the year all vaccinations of smallpox contacts were performed by the Public
Vaccinator. None were performed by the Medical Officer of Health under the Public Health
(Smallpox Prevention) Regulations, 1917.
VACCINATION.
In pursuance of Section 2 of the Local Government Act, 1929, the functions relating to
vaccination were transferred from the local poor law authority to the Borough Council as from
the 1st April, 1930. There are two vaccination districts in the Borough, one consisting of the
Paddington Hospital, for which the Medical Superintendent, Dr. W. G. Bendle, acts as Public
Vaccinator, and the other of the rest of the Borough, the Public Vaccinator being Dr. S.
Denovan Adam. The duties of Vaccination Officer are carried out by Mr. W. J. Hughes,
who holds a part-time appointment.
During the nine months from the 1st April to the end of the year one primary vaccination
and 18 re-vaccinations were performed in the Paddington Hospital. In the rest of the Borough
532 infants under one year of age, and 45 persons over that age were successfully vaccinated
by the Public Vaccinator, by whom also 59 persons were re-vaccinated who had been successfully
vaccinated at some previous time.
The latest return available as to the state of vaccination in the Borough is for the year
1929. This shows that 61.3 per cent. of the children whose births were registered during that year
were successfully vaccinated, and that 20.7 per cent. were exempted on production of statutory
declarations of conscientious objection. Insusceptibility, postponements, removals, deaths,
and not traced, accounted for the remaining 18 per cent. In four instances during that year
legal proceedings were taken for non-compliance with the provisions of the Vaccination Acts,
and the parents fined.