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5
environmental and social conditions. To determine what are the adverse
mfluences acting during pregnancy, which are likely to give rise to
Prematurity, and, more important, how they can be overcome, is a
complex problem involving the complicated interplay of genetic,
ostetric, and environmental and social factors, and probably others
even less clearly understood.
The fact that adverse environmental and social factors affecting
tne child over the first year of life are now less likely to cause infant
deaths should not be regarded with complacency. None the less, it
does mean that the focus of attention in infant welfare work is changing,
and is being given a slightly different emphasis. For instance, taking
the first year of life as a whole, we now think less in terms of infant
deaths than of infant health and welfare, the maintenance of real health,
rather than only the prevention of deaths. Taking a still larger view,
we are beginning to consider how infant welfare work can help to influence
certain diseases of adult life, which are known to be a serious drag
on a civilized community, and a serious cause of ill-health. For instance,
there is reason to think that mental ill-health in later life might be
associated with instability and emotional reactions in young children,
and a small start is now being made to ascertain how and in what ways,
amd by what methods, work in the infant welfare service might possibly
reduce the degree of mental ill-health in later years.
The number of cases of infectious disease was less than in the
pevious year, owing to the diminished incidence of measles and whooping
cough. There were also fewer notifications of scarlet fever, primary
fid influenzal pneumonia, and also of pulmonary tuberculosis. Five
cases of poliomyelitis were notified; in one case the diagnosis was not
confirmed, so that we had four confirmed cases, of which three were
non-paralytic, and one had some paralysis. There was one death from
poliomyelitis. Once again, I am glad to report that there were no
comfirmed cases of diptheria.
I referred last year to the question of housing as a social and
public health problem, and the importance of good and adequate living
conditions as a basic need for the family in the same way as are good
food, pure and wholesome, and fresh air. During the year, the
Housing Repairs and Rents Act, 1954, became law, and its working
imposed additional responsibilities on the Health Department, particularly
as to that part of the Act dealing with the issue of Certificates of
Disrepair. In spite of the fact that these Sections of the Act allowed
some scope for differences in interpretation, no real difficulty was
experienced and the work under the Act proceeded quite smoothly,
As anticipated, after a period of inertia, there was a flood of applications
by tenants, which, however, gradually tailed off. I should like to take the
opportunity of expressing my appreciation of the work of the Sanitary
Inspectors on most of the responsibility for carrying out the
inspections and making reports fell. I am pleased to say that they met
their responsibilities very adequately. The other important part of the
Housing Repairs and Rents Act was that dealing with slum clearance,
and at the end of the year, measures had been taken to complete the
returns necessary under the Act. In terms of legally unfit properties,
it may be that Battersea has no problems of a magnitude comparable
with those of some of the large industrial areas in the North and