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SECTION E
PREVALENCE OF, AND CONTROL OVER, INFECTIOUS DISEASE
The total number of notifications of infectious disease,
excluding Food Poisoning, during 1955 was 1,117 as compared with
624 in 1954. The Increase was mainly due to the larger number of
cases of measles. This disease accounted for nearly 74% of all
notifications.
There was one case of diphtheria during the year. The child
concerned, aged 8 years, had not been immunised and died. It should
be remembered that during the 10 years before the war, when there
was little or no immunisation carried out, the average number of
cases per year was well over 300. If immunisation is not maintained
a recurrence of this disease on the previous scale could happen.
The greater part of the actual immunisation of infants and school
children is carried out by officers of the London County Council and
details of the work done is given In Section F of this report.
Fourteen notifications of poliomyelitis were received during the
year and in twelve cases the diagnosis was confirmed, only one of
these being non-paralytic.
The number of cases of other diseases notified is shown in Table
10 which follows, and requires no special comment.
The arrangement whereby any variation in the original diagnosis is
notified by the Hospital Authorities continued in operation during the
year, and Table 10, which gives details of eases notified, has again
been prepared with a column showing the corrected figures for each
disease after taking Into consideration the latest information supplied
by hospitals.
Contacts or Carriers of Infectious Disease - Sickness Benefit
Circular 115/48 of the Ministry of Health empowers the Medical
Officer of Health to issue certificates to persons who have been in
contact with or who are carriers of infectious disease, thus
enabling them to claim sickness benefit under the National Insurance
Acts, when he deems it necessary to exclude such persons from work.
It Is only exceptionally that it is necessary to require a contact
or carrier of Infectious disease to stay away from work and during
the year under review no certificates were issued.