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104
National Insurance Act, 1946.—From time to time it is
necessary for the Medical Officer of Health to insist that a suspected
'carrier' of, or a person in contact with, an infectious disease
should be precluded from working in order that the risk of transmission
of the disease is minimised. This is especially necessary
when the person concerned is a 'food handler.'
Regulation 3(b) of the National Insurance (Unemployment
and Sickness Benefit) Regulations, 1948, made under the above
Act, enables any person so excluded to claim sickness benefit on
production of a certificate issued by the Medical Officer of Health.
In the Ministry of Health Circular 115/48 it has been suggested
that the Medical Officer of Health should be prepared to furnish
such a certificate if, in his opinion, circumstances are such that
this action becomes necessary.
During the current year 2 certificates were so issued.
Smallpox.—There were no cases notified during the year but
a number of contacts were reported arriving in the Borough from
abroad, and these were kept under observation for the requisite
period.
Public Health (Smallpox Prevention) Regulations, 1917.—These
Regulations give a Medical Officer of Health power to vaccinate or
re-vaccinate, without charge, any contacts of a case of Smallpox
willing to submit themselves for treatment.
During March of this year an outbreak of variola minor occurred
in Rochdale and subsequently a soldier developed this disease at
Aldershot.
Arising from this latter case one vaccination concerning a
suspected contact, was carried out by your Medical Officer of
Health.
Smallpox is a very dangerous and disfiguring disease and prior
to compulsory vaccination in 1853, 9/10ths of smallpox victims were
children under 5 years of age, but subsequently children, by and large
escaped. Since 1898, when the conscientious objection ' clause
made its appearance, vaccinations have declined steeply and the
position deteriorated still further from 1948 when vaccination
became optional.
Occasionally smallpox scares throughout the country result
in a jump in vaccinations but generally the trend is downwards.