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SECTION B
PREVALENCE OF AND CONTROL OVER
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Infectious Diseases
2,224 cases of infectious diseases were notified during the year 217
cases were removed to hospital and of this number 53 were notified on discharge
as not having suffered from the disease originally notified As a
result the corrected number of cases of notifiable infectious diseases for
the year was 2,171.
These figures show an increase on the previous year of 937 cases. This
is due to the Measles epidemic early in the year and a slight increase in
the number of cases of Pneumonia and Food Poisoning although there was a
decrease in the number of cases of Whooping Cough and Puerperal Pyrexia.
Ten cases of suspected diptheria were notified and I regret to report
that one case was confirmed and the patient died in hospital.
This is the first time in thirteen years that I have had to report a
death from this disease.
Contacts and Carriers of Infectious Disease - Sickness Benefit.
One certificate was issued during the year in the following circumstances
-
Male employee in a food factory who was a direct contact of a case of
Paralytic Poliomyelitis
Tuberculosis.
During the year there was a considerable decrease in the incidence of
this disease.
The number of new cases notified was 142 as compared with 165 in the
previous year These figures show a decrease of 30 in pulmonary cases but
an increase of 7 in non-pulmonary cases.
This is the lowest figure ever recorded in the Borough.
In the Statistical supplement will be found a chart showing the numbers
of new cases notified during the past 20 years.
Tuberculosis still remains a serious menace to public health and is
affecting the age groups which are vital to the productive ability of the
nation, and despite the fact that high priority is given by the housing
authorities in rehousing tuberculous persons the housing shortage still precludes
many from obtaining satisfactory homes
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