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74
Gastroenteritis
This disease is notifiable in children up to the age of five
years. The number of cases reported during the year was thirteen.
Ten were removed to hospital for treatment. One of the children in
hospital died, but the cause of death was recorded as due to bronchopneumonia.
Scabies
The number of scabies notified during 1962 was 18, which
compares with 463 notified in the peak year of 1946.
Tuberculosis
During the year 160 new cases of tuberculosis were notified,
of which 149 were respiratory and 11 non-respiratory. The following
table shows the number of cases added to and the number removed from
the notification register during the years-
Description
Respiratory
NonRespiratory
Total
M
F
M
F
On register of notifications
on 1st January, 1962 737 564 75 102 1,478
Notified for the first time
during the year 98 51 4 7 160
Brought to notice other than
by notification 52 55 4 2 113
Removed from register on
account of having-
(a) recovered 38 29 2 4 73
(b) removed from district,
lost sight of, etc. 170 110 7 12 299
(c) died 23 - 8 - 31
Remaining on register on
31st December, 1962 656 531 66 95 1,348
The system of investigation into the environmental conditions
of tuberculosis patients continued during the year. All newly
notified cases and those cases transferring into Kensington or
changing their address in the borough, have been visited by the
public health inspectors with the object of tracing the source
of infection, preventing the spread of infection and removing
conditions favourable to infection. Particular attention was
given to the home conditions in addition to the dissemination
of ad-vice to prevent the transmission of infection to contacts.
During the year, 306 visits were paid to the homes of
tuberculosis patients. In 138 of these, the environmental conditions
were such as to require no further action on the part of the
Public Health Department; in a farther 53 cases, it was found that
the patients had moved away; and in 76 other cases the investigations
were postponed as the patients were away in hospital or had not been
contacted by the end of the year. The action taken in the remaining
39 cases is summarised as follows-