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Glycerinated calf lymph is the standard vaccine used in this
country and the number of vaccinations carried out in the Borough
at the County Council clinics during 1962 was 1,397. This is an
increase of 859 over that of the previous year.
In Greenwich during the last 12 years 15,833 births have been
registered, and for the same period only 8,826 vaccinations have
been effected, a figure equivalent to 55.7%. In this connection it
is only fair to state that a number of these vaccinations were
effected in conformity with the requirements concerning the issue
of international vaccination certificates.
Occasionally a smallpox scare in the country results in a jump
in the number of vaccinations effected, as witnessed at the beginning of the current year, but generally the trend is downwards.
Today, although every precaution is taken at seaports and
airports, infected persons do occasionally slip through but the
comparative immunity of the country has hitherto been due mainly
to its high vaccination state. With the fall in the number of vaccinations this fortunate state of affairs cannot be expected to
continue.
In order that a high vaccinal state be maintained in the department, your Medical Officer of Health carried out 359 vaccinations
to members of the staff and other Council employees who would
most likely be involved should any outbreak of smallpox occur
in the area.
International Certificates (Ministry of Health Circular
20/52).—The question of authentication of International Certificates
of vaccination has now been settled by the adoption of the International Sanitary Regulations (W.H.O. Regulations No. 2) which
replaced the International Sanitary Conventions on 1st October,
1952. The Regulations prescribe inter alia, new forms of International Certificates of vaccination against Cholera and Smallpox
and, to be valid, the certificate must bear an approved stamp
which certifies that the signature of the Vaccinator is that of a
practising medical practitioner.
During the year some 2,766 certificates of persons proceeding
abroad were so authenticated, of these 2,695 were in respect of
Smallpox, 46 for Cholera, 23 for Typhoid and 2 for Yellow Fever.
Measles.—The normal biennial fluctuation was evident in
the number of cases notified during the year which fell from a
total of 1,820 in 1961 to 57, the figure for the current year. Of
the 57 cases, 23 were males and 34 females and only one case was
over the age of 15 years.