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5
INFECTIVE DISEASES.
There has been an increase in the amount of infective
disease during the year, the number of notifiable diseases
having risen from 2,573 in the previous year to 4,323. Scarlet
fever and measles are mainly responsible for this increase.
There were 2,310 cases of measles reported, compared with 330
in 1942, and 853 cases of scarlet fever compared with 363.
37 cases of dysentery have been notified compared with
44 in the previous year; 11 of these occured among patient's
in Putney Hospital; there were no deaths.
Four cases of typhoid fever were notified. There was one
death.
There were 17 cases of cerebro-spinal meningitis, with two
deaths, compared with 22 and three in the previous year.
The notification of scabies came into force on the 1st
August. The Regulations make it compulsory for a medical
practitioner to notify to the local authority any person to whom
he is called, on becoming aware that such person is suffering!
from scabies, unless any member of the same family shall have
been notified within a period of four weeks.
562 cases of scabies had been notified up to the end of
the year.
1,308 cases of scabies were treated at the Council's
Cleansing Station under the supervision of the trained nurse.
The majority of the cases are now treated by the benzyl
benzoate method.
BACTERIOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS.
During the year, 1,294 diphtheria cultures and 1,193
specimens of sputum were examined in the laboratory of the
Tuberculosis Dispensaries. Three specimens of blood and 21
of faeces from suspected cases of entric fever, nine cultures
for streptococcus haemolyticus, four from meningococcus, and
six from cases of ophthalmia were examined by the Camberwell
Research Laboratories.
In connection with the small outbreak of infection by
streptococcus haemolyticus which occured at the Council's
Maternity Home, 36 cultures were examined for this organism
at the laboratory of the Lambeth Hospital.