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23
Anthrax
A case of anthrax was notified by a practitioner in March, and the patient was
a worker on refrigeration plant at a cold store. Human anthrax infection is not
common, the last case in this Borough being notified about two years previously—
also in a worker in similar employment. Cattle may be infected with anthrax, and
germs could be carried on infected meat, on the hides or other products of the
animal. Anthrax in animals comes within the purview of the Control Department
of the County Council in London, but notification in regard to patients is made to
the Medical Officer of Health, and information of cases is normally passed to the
Ministry of Health.
The patient was admitted to hospital for observation and treatment. The
diagnosis was complicated by the administration of penicillin before the diagnosis
could be established. This will control several forms of infection, including anthrax,
and it is not always possible to confirm in such circumstances, whether a case was
due to anthrax or not.
Influenza
In common with other parts of the Country, the Borough suffered an outbreak
of influenza in the autumn of the year. Information was received during the
summer from the Ministry of Health regarding the possible occurrence of Asiatic
influenza and this was circulated to all practitioners. By August a few cases had
occurred of an illness resembling influenza, but of a mild type. During September
there was a very considerable increase in the number of cases of influenza. Since
influenza as such is not notifiable, exact figures are not available of the extent of the
sickness due to this cause.
Most of those affected in the early part of September were school children,
and a few schools reported a considerable degree of absenteeism due to an illness
resembling influenza. On information furnished by the Divisional Medical Officer,
domiciliary visits were arranged by the Department's infectious disease visitors in a
proportion of the cases, and it was possible in this way to observe the spread to adult
contacts. The incubation period was two to three days in the majority of cases, the
illness was fairly mild, some of the children being able to return to school within
four to five days.
By the end of September, approximately two and half thousand children were
reported as absentees due in the main to influenza, the incidence being distributed
throughout the Borough. Information was also received from local offices of the
Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance that sickness claims had risen to more
than 200 per cent of the average figures, and the majority of the claims had been
certified as due to or connected with influenza. The position was confirmed by
information gathered informally from practitioners, and although at the beginning
of the outbreak many more children than adults were affected, in the later stages
adult cases increased porportionately more than children, and at one stage sickness
claims were over 300 per cent above the average.
Although the outbreak was relatively mild, it should be mentioned that influenza
cases, and certainly notifications of influenzal pneumonia, are most unusual in early
autumn and, in fact, it is not possible to trace such an outbreak in previous records
for September. During September there were no pneumonia cases notified, but as
the outbreak proceeded the notifications increased each week, reaching a maximum