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47
During the last four months of last year four cases of this
disease were notified, but no death was registered.
Ophthalmia Neonatorum.—At a meeting of the London County
Council on November 8th, 1910, it made an Order making the
above a notifiable disease in the County of London. The Order
was as follows: "The London County Council hereby Resolves and
Orders that Section 55 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1391,
with respect to the notification of infectious disease shall apply, in
the Administrative County of London, to the disease known as
Ophthalmia Neonatorum."
This Order was approved by the Local Government Board
and came into operation as from and including March 13th, 1911.
From this date up to the end of the year 19 cases of ophthalmia
neonatorum were notified. All the cases not under medical treatment
or in hospital were immediately visited by the Health Visitor,
Mrs. C. Brown, who urged the necessity of medical treatment.
The cases were kept under observation until recovery. Six other
cases of inflammation of the eyes in infants were brought to my
notice by the medical inspectors of the London County Council.
These cases, too, were visited by the health visitor, and the parents
where necessary, persuaded to obtain medical help for their infants.
The danger of this disease of the eyes in infants and the measures
which should be adopted to prevent permanent blindness, are
brought to the notice of parents by the following warning, contained
in the leaflet " On the care of Infants," a copy of which is sent to
every mother in the Borough on the birth of a child.
I.—Inflammation in the Eyes of the New Born Child.
This is a very dangerous and infectious disease. It is the
cause of 36 per cent. of the total blindness of children. But
it is quite preventable by observing the following few simple
rules:—
At birth the infant's eyes should be carefully washed by
the nurse or midwife. Each day during the next week, the