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A Medical Practitioner must notify such case on the form prescribed under
Section 7 of the Infectious Disease (Notification) Act, 1889, unless the case has already
been notified under Section 55 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, or by a certified
midwife. In addition to filling in the usual notification form the Medical Practitioner
must supply, either on the form or on a separate sheet attached to the form, the following
information:—
The date of birth of the child,
The name and address of the parent or other person, if any, having charge of
the child, and
The date of the onset of the disease.
In order that City Medical Practitioners and midwives should be acquainted with
the duties imposed upon them by the above regulations, a circular letter, together with
a copy of such regulations, were duly forwarded to them, and advertisements were
inserted in the newspapers circulating within the City.
Further, all certified midwives known to be practising within the City were
supplied with copies of the prescribed notification form.
MEASLES.
In the early part of the year a neighbouring borough approached the
Corporation, with the view of convening a conference to consider the desirability of
taking some steps to lessen the incidence and mortality of Measles. The main value of
such a conference in the present state of our knowledge of the disease would be to
direct attention to its incidence, and for this alone a conference would hardly appear
justified.
The most urgent matter in respect of Measles and certain other zymotic diseases is
the discovery of the organism on which the disease exists, and a careful and thorough
research into the life history of the organism.
I believe it is assumed that the organism is one of the ultra-microscopic group,
and I think some work is being done at the present time on these lines. The Metropolitan
Asylums Board so long ago as November, 1912, decided to increase the scope
of their bacteriological work by appointing a special bacteriologist, and I believe that
research work in respect of Measles is being carried out.
The Corporation were of opinion that the suggested conference should be postponed,
and the initiating Local Authority were accordingly so informed.
PREVENTION OF EPIDEMIC DIARRHŒA.
Despite the advance in practical hygiene that has been made in recent years,
during the summer and autumn months the child mortality arising from Epidemic
Diarrhœa and other infectious diseases of infants is still very high. If this is to be
reduced to a satisfactory figure, it is essential that all practical measures for the
prevention of such diseases, and the promotion of hygienic conditions in respect of the
feeding of infants should be adopted.
In view of the urgency of the reduction of the infantile mortality rate, the Local
Government Board issued on the 10th July last a Circular Letter intimating what
precautions should be taken by Sanitary Authorities with a view to the prevention of
Epidemic Diarrhœa.