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SECTION F
INFECTIOUS DISEASES CONTROL
Measles showed a biennial epidemic increase and there were 1,053
more cases than in 1960.
Tables at the end of this report show that 6,741 persons were
immunised against Poliomyelitis, 2,362 persons were immunised against
Diphtheria, 1,005 persons were immunised against Whooping Cough
and 875 persons were vaccinated against Smallpox.
In May a child aged 5½ years was admitted to hospital with
suspected laryngeal diphtheria but the diagnosis was not confirmed.
The last confirmed case of diphtheria in Beckenham occurred in 1952.
From 1945-1949 inclusive there were 11 cases and 1 death ; from
1950-54 inclusive there was 1 case and 1 death. The percentage of
children under 15 immunised against diphtheria in 1947 was 54.8 per
cent. This followed a consistent scheme for diphtheria immunisation
which began in Beckenham in 1928. Today over 90 per cent of 5-year
old children are immunised before entering school and records for
reinforcing injections show that these are well maintained.
Further investigations in cases of Scarlet Fever showed that 36
families were visited by public health inspectors. In nine families the
children attended maintained schools in the Borough. Investigations
into possible sources of infection revealed in a few cases links between
different schools through other children in the family.
In three schools there was evidence of continuing infection over
many weeks. In St. Anthony's School three children, aged 6, 6 and 7
years respectively of different families were notified on the 18th July,
12th August and 27th September.
In Balgowan School two children aged 9 and 5 years were notified
on 13th and 25th January. In Alexandra School two children aged 5
and 6 years were notified on the 1st and 27th November.
In addition a nurse who had recently come off duty from a fever
ward in a London Teaching Hospital developed scarlet fever.
The difficulty of control of scarlet fever these days through the
mild and atypical nature of the illness was shown in one case where the
diagnosis was not made until desquamation had occurred and the
Health Department was notified 16 days after the onset of the disease;
in a second case where there was a previous history of scarlet fever; in
a third case where the diagnosis was revised to strephoccal tonsillitis
by the family doctor.
Notifications continued to be reasonably prompt and the interval
between the onset of the disease or rash and notification to the Medical
Officer of Health was 4 days or less in 21 cases and 7 days or less in
30 out of 35 cases.
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