View report page

59
SECTION F.
PREVALENCE OF, AND CONTROL OVER, INFECTIOUS
AND OTHER DISEASES.
1. NOTIFIABLE INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
The prevalence of notifiable infectious diseases in Barking during the year has
been due, to some extent, to the fact that there has been a large influx of a population
new to the area. For reasons difficult to explain, large schemes of rehousing seem
to bring about conditions favourable to the incidence of infectious disease. Amongst
other causes I think should be mentioned that persons so rehoused travel very considerably
between their old friends and associates in the area where they formerly lived
and new friends in the new area; this means that the people, particularly the children,
are exposed to an increased number of possible sources of infection.
Towards the end of 1933 diphtheria increased in severity.
In Barking you are very fortunate in having an Infectious Diseases Hospital of your
own. It is possible to achieve much closer co-ordination between treatment and
prevention where this is so. It is also possible to link up the hospital work with the other
medical activities you carry on, such as the maternity and child welfare and the school
medical services. My personal relationship, too, with the medical practitioners
practising in the area means that oftentimes, by consultation, we are able to discharge
persons who, although completely recovered from the infectious disease, as such, are
nevertheless disabled by reason of the recurrence of some previous disability or by reason
of some disabling complication.