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67
Ophthalmia Neonatorum.—This disease was made
compulsorily notifiable by an order of the Local Government
Board on 1st April, 1914. It is a very prevalent disease,
especially among the children of the poor, and it has been
computed that one-tenth of all the cases of blindness in the
country and one-third of all the institutional cases of blindness
are due to this cause.
It is due to infection of the child's eyes by discharge
in the maternal passages, during birth, and is usually of
gonorrhoeal origin.
As it is a disease which may produce serious effects,
and is at the same time easily preventable, as a rule, by
simple means, it is one in which administrative measures
may be expected to be of great value.
Twenty-nine cases were notified during the last nine
months of 1914. Of these, 17 were cured, 3 died and 3
were still under observation at the end of the year. In
the case of the other six the result is not known.
Three of the cases attended the Eye Clinic, and of these
one was cured and two were still under observation at the
end of the year. The provision of one or two hospital
beds for serious cases of this disease would be of great
value. In very acute cases the only hope of saving the
child's eyesight lies in thorough treatment, which the
mothers have neither the time nor knowledge to carry out,
and, indeed, it is questionable if any but a trained person
has the necessary skill.
The cases which are so acute as to demand hospital
treatment are few in number, and the expense would therefore
be small. On the other hand the saving of a child's
eyesight is not only a matter of the utmost importance to
the child, but saves the community a considerable expense
in maintaining and educating him.