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11
should be in a good condition and clean, their finger nails should be
short, clean overalls should be worn and the hair covered with a
cap. Minor illnesses should be reported. Cuts should be treated
and covered. Colds, running ears or diarrhoeal illnesses should be
"stood off " or watched carefully.
Firms should provide adequate facilities for their employees
for washing their hands. The importance of this, especially after
use of the toilet, should be emphasised and notices to this effect
displayed in lavatories.
Staff should be selected with care and those with a history of
enteric or any such illness should not be chosen.
With regard to the technique of the kitchen, manual handling
of food should be avoided wherever possible. Refrigeration is a
keynote and wrappings and covers for food on display are essential.
Reconstituted eggs, custard powders and so on should not be kept
in a warm place. The kitchen should be constructed so that it is
easily cleaned, ventilation and lighting should be adequate and
there should also be adequate storage space.
The necessity for the above precautions has been fully realised
in the Borough and the steps taken by the Chief Sanitary Inspector
and his staff to achieve the desired effect are mentioned in a later
part of this report.
Malaria.
Three cases of malaria were notified.
These were men aged 25, 29 and 21 respectively.
The first had returned from Malaya after spending some years
there, the second was also home from the east after eight years in
the army and the third had returned from service in Korea.
All three cases were confirmed by blood test.
Measles.
2,568 notifications were received during the year. While this
is a great increase on the 993 cases in the previous year it is not so
severe as in 1951 when 3,296 cases occurred.
The largest number of cases, 2,001, occurred in the first
quarter of the year.
There were no deaths.
The chief signs of measles in its early stages, and before the
appearance of the typical rash, are simply those of a common cold;
namely watering of the nose and eyes, and sneezing. This is only
one of the many instances of the importance of the isolation of
"Coughs and Sneezes before they Spread Diseases."
Ophthalmia Neonatorum.
No notifications of this condition were received in 1953.