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7
SECTION 1
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
CONTROL
The diseases notifiable under the Public Health Act,
1936, are smallpox, cholera, diphtheria, membraneous
croup erysipelas, scarlet fever, typhus, typhoid, enteric
and relapsing fever. The Minister of Health has also made
regulations under this Act whereby the following diseases
are notifiable: plague, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis,
puerperal pyrexia, ophthalmia neonatorum, malaria, dysentery,
acute primary pneumonia acute influenzal pneumonia
measles, whooping cough, acute encephalitis and meningococcal
infection. Pood Poisoning is notifiable under the
provisions of the Pood and Drugs Act of 1955, and Gastroenteritis
under the Milk and Dairies (General) Regulations,
1959, made under this Act.
It would seem that the time has come for some reconsideration
of which diseases should be notifiable. Thus
scarlet fever and measles are today relatively mild conditions
and a sampling procedure in selected areas to
determine their incidence might satisfactorily replace
the present nation wide notification. On the other hand a
change in the incidence of leptospirosis and psittacosis
might have occurred but as neither of these diseases is
notifiable there is no means of assessing this. With
regard to the more serious diseases such as smallpox and
diphtheria speed is the essential factor in control and a
telephone message might, with advantage, replace the
present statutory written notification.
Finally, at present as stated above infectious
diseases are notifiable under four different pieces of
legislation and consolidation of these would seem rational.
1,908 cases of Infectious Disease were notified in
the Borough during the year.. Of these 12 were proved not
to have suffered from the disease for which they were
originally notified, reducing the corrected number of
cases of Infectious Disease during the year to 1,896,
DIPHTHERIA,
No cases were notified in 1958.
During the year 2,228 primary immunisations were given
either at Clinics or by General Practitioners and 1,485
booster doses. 1,754 children under one year had primary