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22
Medical Officers of Health Annual Report.
Our opinions on the suggestion were expressed in the
following Report:—
THE BOARD OF WORKS
FOE THE WANDSWORTH DISTRICT.
CHOLERA-NOTIFICATION OF DIARRHOEA.
In pursuance with the instructions of your Sanitary Committee,
wo beg to report on the circular on the above subject from the
Local Government Board.
The circular reminds Sanitary Authorities that the utmost vigilance
should be exercised to control any diarrhoea which may be
suspicious either in character or in amount during the present
season, and it states that the Local Government Board would give
favourable consideration to any application to add diarrhoea to
the list of notifiable diseases until the termination of the current
quarter.
In our opinion the addition of diarrhoea to the list would not
very greatly help us to decide whether there existed diarrhoea
suspioious in character or in amount. It is always our experience to
have an increased amount of diarrhœal disease present iu the summer
and autumn months, but having no standard of the amount existing
in former years, the number of cases notified during this season
would not prove whether it is present in excessive amount or not.
The same would be true with regard to the severity of the cases
notified.
Also the term diarrhoea is of very undefined meaning. It
includes all conditions from the very slightest departure from health
to a severe disease. All cases of whatever their type, would, however,
compulsorily be notified if the suggestion were adopted, as it
would be quite impossible to limit the application of the requirements
of the law to the cases of severe type.
The consequence would not only be a very great increase in the
cost of notification; but, owing to our being overwhelmed by the
number of certificates, we should be quite unable with the present
staff of Sanitary Inspectors to take any action in investigating