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public conscience. This is all to the good because there is little doubt
that more can be done by early treatment and above all by protection of
the young child and the susceptible adult to cut down both the rate
of incidence and rate of mortality much more. During the year the
Government did agree to the use of a special BCG vaccine where it could
be used under satisfactory supervision, and this no doubt is the first
step to a considerably increased use of this form of prevention. More
details with regard to tuberculosis will be found on p. 57 of the report.
Food hygiene
The food poisoning outbreaks which came to the notice of the
department showed a considerable increase in the number of cases
involved. Altogether 50 cases of food poisoning were formally notified,
and in addition a number of minor cases came to our notice as a result
of other enquiries. Most of these cases occurred in one group, as a
result of eating shellfish, and in this connection shellfish landed in the
Thames estuary were incriminated. Cases occurred, both in people
who journeyed down to Thames estuary resorts and ate the shellfish
there, and in people who bought shellfish in the borough itself. All shellfish
are treated before being put on sale and it is likely that the wholly
abnormal conditions of the late summer and early autumn were the
cause. The warm weather, combined with the decreased flow of the
Thames, and possibly other factors joined together in increasing the
number of germs to an extent with which the normal process of cleaning
could not deal sufficiently. The matter cleared up soon after the increased
rain came in the autumn, and fortunately almost all the cases
were mild. It was thought advisable to issue a warning to the public
when the outbreak was at its height and the aid of the press was sought.
Two local papers were good enough to publish the warning.
Throughout the year the food inspectors gave advice to occupiers
of food shops with regard to general hygiene, and particularly in relation
to avoidance of flies and other pests. The summer was a hot one and
therefore conducive to heavy fly infestation, but in point of fact very few
complaints were received of infestations of shops, and observations made
by the inspectors confirmed the absence of any serious nuisance. Advice
was given by the health department also in the form of printed pamphlets,
and it is likely that this continuous semipersonal advice from the
health department or from the food inspectors themselves is of as
great benefit or of even greater benefit than a special campaign, food
guilds and the rest. Clean food guilds have proved their value in certain
towns, but the towns where they have been most successful have been
relatively small provincial towns, which by their nature are almost selfcontained.
This is a very different matter to a town which is a suburb
of London and which has no natural boundaries dividing it from other
suburbs, and where a considerable proportion of the population move
out of the town to work. Nevertheless two or three London boroughs
have, in fact, started a clean food guild and the results and effects are
being watched with interest as it may be that this borough also, at a later
date, might think a guild on similar lines might be helpful.