View report page

5
immunisation
against
whooping
cough.
On a number of occasions approaches have
been made urging the Council to institute this
service. I have advised against it chiefly on
the grounds that the reagents at our disposal
are not sufficienriy trustworthy to prevent the
disease to warrant its introduction. Further, the failures to prevent,
which would undoubtedly ensue, would undermine the confidence we
have built up after many years of patient labour in the efficacy of
Diphtheria Immunisation.
To strengthen my argument, a report has recently been made to
the Medical Research Council by three eminent workers which states :
"The evidence obtained from this investigation lends no support to
the view that pertussis vaccine is of value in the prophylaxis of whooping
cough." And again " We should not discard the present vaccine
prophylaxis of whooping cough because it is disappointing, but because
it sometimes produces quite a severe reaction which has no immunising
result."
Many workers are now engaged on the production of a suitable
vaccine; when the time is opportune the sanction of the Council will be
sought to make it available to the public. I have no misgivings as to
the attitude the Council will adopt!
food
poisoning.
A factory canteen experienced what threatened
to be an outbreak of alarming proportions.
The management sought the advice of this
department, which of course was readily forthcoming. The Medical
Officer of Health and the Senior Sanitary Inspector visited the factory
and inspected the appliances used for the preparation of the meals.
A defective joint in a potato peeling machine was discovered; this joint
was packed with red lead, some of which might have passed into the
potatoes. The canteen manager had, previous to our visit, ordered
the use of this machine to be suspended until a proper repair had been
carried out. Our later enquiries showed that potatoes were not a
common factor amongst those affected.
In all 117 persons were questioned, all of these had symptoms of
food poisoning to a greater or less degree, the predominant one being
diarrhoea associated with abdominal pain, and/or vomiting. Careful
enquiry elicited the fact that the only article of diet common to all was
beef. The origin of this beef was quickly traced and enquiries made
as to whether there had been any trouble experienced by other consumers,
with negative results.
Rectal swabs taken from a number of those affected failed to
establish the identity of any specific organism as the cause. It seemed
quite clear, however, that one particular joint out of the consignment
of meat delivered on the material day was the cause of the outbreak.