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14
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Notifications of infectious diseases for the years 1952-1961 are shown in table V.5,
page 21, those for certain such diseases by age and sex for the 13 four-weekly periods of the
year 1961 are given in table V.6, page 22 and deaths from infectious diseases are included
in table V.3, page 19.
Diarrhœa and enteritis—There were 20 deaths under the age of two years from diarrhoea
and enteritis, compared with 16 in the previous year. This represents a rate of 0.33 per
1,000 live births and shows a continuation of the low figures of recent years.
Diphtheria—There was a slight rise in notifications in 1961, from sixteen in 1960 to
twenty-eight. Localised outbreaks occurred in Camberwell, Battersea, Kensington,
Bermondsey and Deptford. Each of these episodes centred on a primary school (that in
Kensington in a junior training centre for subnormal children). The pattern was that
after the recognition of a single case of diphtheria widespread swabbing among the school
and home contacts brought to light a variable number of infected persons, most of whom
were carriers without symptoms. The intensive search for infected persons and the isolation
of any cases or carriers enabled the infection to be eliminated from the area in each instance.
There were three deaths from diphtheria and there was no evidence that any of these children
had been immunised in the past. The fact that it has been possible to limit these outbreaks
by the rapid institution of energetic measures has been due to the willing co-operation
of the staff of the Public Health Laboratory at County Hall, who shared with the divisional
staff a great deal of additional work while the outbreaks were in progress.
Nothing that occurred during the year cast any doubt on the value of immunisation.
The risk of contracting diphtheria is four or five times greater in the unimmunised than
in the immunised and there was a tragic demonstration that diphtheria can still be a very
serious disease in unimmunised children. The events described above have somewhat
diverted attention from the continued improvement in the proportion of young children
given their primary course of immunisation. Figures for infant immunisation in 1961
given elsewhere in this report give cause for some satisfaction. The local outbreaks during
the year lead to a general determined effort to increase the number of boosting doses given
to children in primary schools.
Dysentery—During the year dysentery notifications fell to 1,812—the lowest figure for
ten years. Whereas in recent years the number of cases occurring in children of school
age has been roughly equal to that in the much smaller numbers of pre-school children,
in 1961 the cases in school children were fewer in number than those in the age group
0 to 4 years.
Enteric fever—Incidence continued at a low level; no notable outbreaks occurred.
Most cases in recent years have been of the sporadic kind.
Influenza—There was a rise in the number of deaths from influenza but incidence of the
disease was not above the average.
Leptospirosis—For the fifth successive year there was no case of leptospirosis reported
among the Council's sewer workers.
Measles—The customary biennial epidemic culminated in the early part of the year.
Mortality remains at a low level.
Trials of a new vaccine were carried out during the year. Although it gives substantial
protection against the disease, its administration is followed in a high proportion of those
receiving the vaccine by side effects (fever and skin eruption). These reactions make it
most unlikely that the vaccine in its present form will become popular in this country
while natural measles remains as mild a disease as it now is. The vaccine may have a place
in the health programme of countries in which measles still has a high mortality.