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Vaccination.
One of the three vaccination officers who was also registrar of
births and deaths tendered his resignation to the Council early in
June, and shortly after one of the five public vaccinators also
resigned. The public vaccinators' districts were not coterminous
with those of the vaccination officers nor with the four registration
districts into which the borough is divided. The dual post of
vaccination officer and registrar of births and deaths was unsatisfactory,
seeing that part of the duties were performed under
the supervision of the town clerk and the remainder under that of
the medical officer of health. Advantage was therefore taken of
the two resignations to reorganise the whole of the administrative
arrangements for vaccination and with the approval of the
Minister of Health, two new appointments of vaccination officers
were made to replace the remaining two transferred officers from
the late Board of Guardians, and the districts of the four remaining
public vaccinators so altered that one vaccination officer should
serve two public vaccinators. The redistribution of areas and
duties has replaced an awkward and unsatisfactory contusion by
a simple workable scheme.
Public Health (Smallpox Prevention) Regulations, 1917.
No vaccinations were performed by the Medical Officer of
Health under the Public Health (Smallpox Prevention) Regulations,
1917.
Diphtheria.
There were 94 more cases of diphtheria notified than in the
previous year and the incidence per 1,000 population rose from
1.48 to 1.85 in 1937. The case mortality was also raised from
3.63 per cent. to 3.94 per cent.
The two diphtheria prevention clinics were considerably better
attended than in the previous year but the number immunised is