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The following articles were destroyed: 4 mattresses, 1 bolster, 3 pillows and 24
articles of clothing.
Cancer.
It will be seen by the table of causes of death (page 26) that in 1944, 69 cases (37
males and 32 females) died from cancer. (See Appendix, Tables XXIII and XXIV.)
The decrease in cancer is very marked and the figure is the lowest for some years.
This figure has been showing an upward trend since 1940 which was very disturbing but
the present figure is not unduly high.
Special Infectious Diseases.
Smallpox (Variola).
No patients with smallpox or contacts of cases of smallpox were notified to the
Department during the year. No work was done under the Public Health (Smallpox
prevention) Regulation, 1917.
Scarlet Fever (Scarlatina).
The number of notifications received during the year was 115 as compared with
269 for the previous year.
Of these, 109 were removed to the Isolation Hospital.
Diphtheria.
A further drop in the number of notifications of diphtheria has resulted in a corre
sponding drop in the admission of cases to the Isolation Hospital. 16 were admitted during
the year, 4 of which were not confirmed as diphtheria, making a total of 12 positive cases.
There were no deaths from diphtheria. None of the cases was of a severe type
and there were no complications.
Diphtheria Prevention.
The immunisation figures for 1944 are still extremely unsatisfactory, but again
attention should be drawn to the fact that it was a very difficult year because of enemy
activity and the Government evacuation scheme.
Propaganda has been intensified in this direction and all mothers attending the
clinics and visited in their homes are asked individually concerning the immunising of
their children. In the Wartime Nurseries consent is obtained from the parents on the
child's admission and arrangements are made at the earliest possible date for the attendance
of the children at the Diphtheria Immunisation Clinic for this purpose. The proportion
of immunised one-year old children to the total estimated number in the district is fairly
good, i.e., 78 per cent.
Diphtheria immunisation is carried out on Monday afternoons at the Branch Health
Centre, and on Thursday afternoons at the Manor House Clinic.