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33
It may be well to point out the directions in which, some improvement
in the means of dealing with Small-pox outbreaks is
desirable:—
1.—The enforcement of the Vaccination Acts should be entrusted to the
Local Sanitary Authority, the authority that has to bear the burden
of extra work and expense entailed by an epidemic, and whose interest
it would therefore be to see that the law is efficiently administered.
With reference to this matter the Council passed the following
resolution in the latter part of the year:—
"That having regard to the fact that in the event of an outbreak of Smallpox,
the Sanitary Authority has to direct all the other measures
taken to stamp out the disease, it is an anomaly that the important
measure of vaccination and re-vaccination should not also be under
their direct control. That by the existing arrangement it may
happen that the Vaccination Authority and its Officers may fail in
their duty to administer the Vaccination Acts, and the health of
the district be endangered by the neglect to secure the most general
adoption possible of a preventive measure over which the Public
Health Authority has at present no jurisdiction whatever."
It was also resolved:—
"That a copy of such resolution be forwarded to the Local Government
Boaad with a request to initiate legislation for correcting this anomaly;
and that a circular letter containing the resolution be sent to the
other Sanitary Authorities in the Metropolis inviting them to take
similar action."
2.—Compulsory power is required to deal with contacts in one or two
alternative ways:—Either the contacts should be compelled to
submit to vaccination and, where necessary, re-vaccination, and to
allow themselves and their clothes to be disinfected before again
mixing with others; or to submit to strict quarantine for a period of
15 days.
3.—The withholding of information, or the failure to give correct information
to the Sanitary Official investigating and dealing with a case
of Small-pox should be made a punishable offence.
4.—Where it is judged expedient by the Medical Officer of Health, he should
be empowered to examine any patient who may be judged likely to
be suffering from Small-pox. Such as cases of Chicken-pox, Bloodpoisoning,
Scarlet fever, Measles, &c., which may come to his knowledge
at a time when the disease is prevalent.