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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.
It is likely that action of this nature could result in hardship
for National Health benefits are considerably less than a person's
normal earnings. However, Section 41 of the Public Health Act,
1961, provides that where, with a view to preventing the spread of
a notifiable infectious disease or a disease to which Section 23(1)
of the Food and Drugs Act, 1955, applies, a Medical Officer of
Health by written notice requests a person to discontinue his work,
then the local authority shall compensate such person for the loss
occasioned in compliance thereof.
No action was necessary during the year under review.
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 2,646 certificates of persons proceeding
abroad were so authenticated, of these 2,252 were in respect of
Smallpox, 275 Cholera, and 119 for Typhoid.
Smallpox
No cases were notified during the year, but a number of contacts
were reported arriving in the Borough from abroad and these
were kept under surveillance 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 Smallpox
cases willing to submit themselves for treatment.
Vaccination.—Smallpox is a very dangerous and disfiguring
disease and prior to the introduction of compulsory vaccination in