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The total number of Infectious Diseases notified under Section
144 of the Public Health Act, 1936, Section 192 of the Public
Health (London) Act, 1936, and associated Orders and Regulations
was 1,329. Under the Public Health (Tuberculosis) Regulations,
1952, there were 32 notifications, giving a consolidated total of
1,361 cases notified during the year. The following table indicates
the figures for the previous ten years :—
Year No. of corrected notifications
1953 1,242
1954 569
1955 2,120
1956 844
1957 1,558
1958 607
1959 1,102
1960 542
1961 1,981
1962 184
10-year average 1,075
1963 1,361
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.
If a Medical Officer of Health requests a person to discontinue
his employment with a view to preventing the spread of an
infectious disease and issues a certificate accordingly, this often