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9
During the year a visit was made to the home of every person notified as suffering from
tuberculosis and within our means we have done our best to improve environmental conditions.
I am hoping that in 1951 this work will not only be maintained but increased. Tuberculosis
is not an acute infectious disease which spends itself in a period of days or weeks like other
of the infectious diseases, after which the patient is in most cases no longer a source of infection.
A person who contracts tuberculosis may remain infectious for many years, and it is essential
that the conditions under which he lives and works, and in fact the type of work which he
undertakes, should be known to the Public Health Department, and supervised insofar as
this may be necessary in the interests of the health of the borough as a whole.
Infectious Disease.
It will be seen from the table on page 33 that the incidence of infectious disease was
more or less the same as that in 1949.
Notifications of food poisoning, however, were 41 as compared with 12 in the previous
year. This was largely due to the occurrence of two outbreaks in a canteen in the borough.
I do not think that the notifications are an absolute indication of the number of cases of illness
due to food poisoning. In many cases mild symptoms occur and a doctor is not consulted.
The notifications we do receive generally result from a definite outbreak affecting more than
one person in a family or a number of people eating in a particular restaurant or canteen.
Poliomyelitis.
It will be noted that there were 26 cases of poliomyelitis (Infantile Paralysis) recorded
during the year as compared with 66 in 1949. In no case was the disease associated, insofar
as could be ascertained, with immunisation or any form of injection.
Measles.
It will be noted that not one child died from measles during the year. This happy
situation has occurred only three times in the last 25 years, namely in 1939, 1942 and 1944.
Work of Sanitary Inspectors
The work of the district sanitary inspectors falls mainly into the following categories:
(a) Repair and maintenance of house property.
(b) Smoke abatement.
(c) Inspection of premises selling certain poisons.
(d) Drainage of both new and old buildings.
(e) Inspections following complaint.
(f) Abatement of nuisances other than housing matters.
(g) Routine visits to blind and old persons.
(h) Routine visits to licensed premises.
(i) Routine visits to closed basement rooms.
(j) Routine visits to homes where there has been infectious disease, including
tuberculosis.
(k) Survey of areas prior to compulsory purchase.
(l) Survey of individual houses within the compulsory purchase area, for the
purpose of assessing compensation where any premises are in a state of defective
sanitation or are not in reasonably good repair.
(m) Inspection of shops.