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17
Smallpox
No case occurred in the Borough during the year.
Notifications are received from Port and Local Authorities
whenever persons who may have been in contact with smallpox
are known to be coming into the Borough. Observation for the
necessary period is kept on these persons by members of the staff
of the Health Department but no such notifications were received
during the year.
Under the Public Health (Aircraft) Regulations, 1952-63, persons
arriving in this country by air, who are not in possession of valid
international certificates of vaccination against smallpox, must be
placed under surveillance for up to 17 days. With the ever-increasing
flow of air travel, more and more people come to this country
to stay, permanently or otherwise, and during the year 23 such
persons who were proceeding to addresses in the Borough were
kept under observation.
International Certificates of Vaccination and Inoculation
During the year 18,975 requests were received from residents in
the Borough for a certificate of vaccination or inoculation to be
authenticated for the purpose of travel abroad. The signature of
the person issuing the certificate was verified in each case as that
of a registered medical practitioner practising in Wandsworth and
the certificate endorsed accordingly
The risk of importation of smallpox to countries by travellers
from smallpox endemic areas has caused a tightening up by most
countries of their regulations in regard to vaccination, and in
consequence, many more requests are now being made to Health
Departments for the authentication of international certificates.
In 1965 there were only 4,110 requests; the increase of 14,865
during 1966 was occasioned partly by the general tightening-up
already mentioned but more especially by the outbreak of a number
of mild cases of smallpox in the Midlands and South Wales
about the middle of the year. For a few months almost every other
country required a traveller from England to produce an international
certificate before being permitted to enter.
Persons who are proceeding to certain areas abroad but who
do not wish to be vaccinated must take with them a certificate
to the effect that no recent cases of smallpox have occurred in the
borough. Six such certificates were issued on request during the
year.