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has been practically no evidence of syphilis, gonorrhoea or softsore.
Similarly, the thousands of infants and young children
attending the Child Welfare Centres have shown no evidence of
syphilitic infection of their parents. Finding it difficult to
reconcile this clean local bill of health with the oft-repeated statement
that venereal diseases have more than doubled during the
war, I obtained the figures of persons attending V.D. Clinics in
London and the four contiguous counties for the five years of
war and for ten years before the war. The statistics indicate
that, in the depleted civilian population of these five counties,
V.D. was lower in incidence during every year of war than in
any of the ten years preceding the war, and less than half the
incidence in the early thirties—well remembered as the years
of economic depression and unemployment following the financial
crisis of 1931.
Premature and Illegitimate Children.
Premature children and infants born under weight naturally
receive special care in nursing and feeding by the midwives in
domiciliary practice, by the staff of the Alexandra Maternity
Home, by the Health Visitors in their home visiting, and by the
Medical Officers at the Infant Welfare Centres.
Illegitimate infants receive the same care and attention from
the staff of the Maternity and Child Welfare Department as do
legitimate children and, with the co-operation of voluntary
agencies, all the suggestions (a) to (h) in Circular 2866 from the
Ministry of Health regarding the care of illegitimate children
are in operation in this Borough.
Infestation.
Adequate facilities exist for dealing with skin infestations—
pediculosis and scabies. Adult males found infested are treated
by men at the Central Depot, High Street, Hornsey, and women
and children have the same treatment from a woman at the
Cleansing Station established in Pear Tree Cottage, adjoining
the School Clinic at the Town Hall.
Immunisation.
For the third successive year no death occurred from
diphtheria. The diphtheria wards at the Joint Isolation Hospital,
Muswell Hill, which serves the needs of Hornsey, Finchley,
Wood Green and Friern Barnet (a population of about a quarter
of a million), have been closed during the entire year and remain
closed. There is now no need to persuade parents to have their
children immunised. They have learned from experience that
immunisation is a perfectly painless and safe procedure, without
unpleasant reactions, and they believe, rightly, that it prevents
diphtheria in the great majority of children and is an almost
certain protection against a fatal issue from this disease. Therefore
they welcome the opportunities for immunisation provided
by the Council at the Infant Welfare Centres War-Time Day
Nurseries and in the Schools.
I have the honour to be,
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
R. P. GARROW,
Medical Officer of Health.