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115
SECTION F
Prevalence of, and Control over, Infectious
and Other Diseases
Infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, typhoid, cholera,
plague, smallpox, etc., no longer threaten the community as
hitherto. Better nutrition, improved social conditions and, in more
recent years, immunisation and the introduction of sulpha drugs
and antibiotics have together brought about a complete transformation
in the field of preventive medicine. It is now possible to
contemplate complete control of infectious disease in the near
future by existing measures.
It must be remembered that, in 1900 at the time of the formation
of the Metropolitan boroughs, pulmonary tuberculosis throughout
the country was claiming some 40,000 victims per year and
diphtheria a further 7,000. Comparable figures for 1958 were 4,000
and 2 respectively, showing what a tremendous impact organised
preventive medicine can have on the health and longevity of life of
the nation.
Nevertheless there are certain disturbing features in the use of
modern chemotherapeutic drugs which will require intensive investigation.
Firstly, there is a tendency for the production of
resistant strains of causal organisms ; secondly, in many cases
patients may have or may develop sensitivity to new drugs, and
thirdly, there is a strong possibility that the use of these modern
drugs is partly responsible for an increase in " collagen " diseases.
Today, in the management of the infectious diseases, emphasis
is made on vaccination and immunisation, the methods which
proved so successful in the control of smallpox and diphtheria. In
poliomyelitis the incidence of paralysis has been drastically
reduced (some experts put the reduction as high as 80%) by effective
vaccination and great strides are being made in this field in
controlling epidemic influenza.
During the current year, no new Statutory Instruments were
issued in respect of Infectious Diseases. Legislation introduced
since 1949, in accordance with Section 144 of the Public Health
Act, 1936, concerning the notification of poliomyelitis, encephalitis,
meningococcal meningitis, puerperal pyrexia, etc., has in common
with other London boroughs, led to the allocation to Greenwich of
notifications in respect of non-residents merely as the result of the
accidental location of hospitals in the vicinity. Statistics in connection
with the notification of these diseases therefore, have no
specific relevance to the population of the Borough and, with the
uninitiated, could even be misleading.