View report page

105
Year No. of corrected notifications
1947 1,013
1948 1,671
1949 1,335
1950 1,644
1951 2,266
1952 1,565
1953 1,242
1954 569
1955 2,120
1956 844
10-year Average 1,426
1957 1,558
Particulars of age groups and districts affected are shown in
the table at the end of this Report.
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 the issue of one certificate became
necessary compared with seven during 1956.
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.