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4
deaths, and in the following year there were substantial
numbers. Following immunisation, first with the killed
vaccine and later with the live vaccine, the number of cases
has dropped, and in 1963 there were only 78 cases in England
and Wales, and of this number only 8 cases in the County of
London, and only three out of these eight were paralytic cases.
Not enough is yet known about the spread of poliomyelitis and
why the disease suddenly becomes epidemic at times, and it
would, therefore, be wrong to attribute the very small number
of cases only to the use of vaccines. It can only be hoped
that the use of vaccines has indeed played a major part in
this happy result, and that the results of future years will
confirm this.
However effective "vaccination and immunisation is in the
control of infectious diseases, the control will be lost if the
numbers so protected are not maintained, and whilst the public
generally will flock to obtain this protection during an
epidemic, they will not show any great enthusiasm when the
disease is apparently non-existent in the country. Consequently
it is of the greatest importance that a campaign
should be continuous and energetic, particularly to encourage
parents to have their young children protected. In this
field the London County Council and its officers have been both
persistent and successful, and it is largely due to their
efforts that I am able to give such a satisfactory report
concerning the incidence of infectious diseases in Hampstead.
Particulars of the other health services are set out in
the report, but I should mention in particular Health Education
and action under the Housing Act, 1961.
We are fortunate in Hampstead in having an able,
enthusiastic health education officer, and whilst it is
difficult to assess the results of his efforts, it is quite
clear that more is being done in Hampstead to spread information
concerning hygiene and healthy living than is being done
in any other parts of the area. New advances in public health
depend very largely on the acceptance of higher standards by the
public, and this can only be achieved by a spread of knowledge,
and in this I believe that both the schools and the public
health department are playing their full part.
The Housing Act of 1961 gives powers to the local
authority to require improvements or the provision of
additional sanitary amenities in houses which are occupied by
more than one family. The Act has been used in Hampstead
more than in any other metropolitan borough, and although