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3
ANNUAL REPORT
of the
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH, 1949
To the Chairman and Members of the Urban District Council
of Enfield.
My Annual Report for the year 1949 unfortunately does not
include, as in former years, details of the Maternity and Child
Welfare Service or the School Health Service, which are now the
responsibility of the Middlesex County Council. No one regrets
more than I do, this division of responsibility for the Environmental
Health Service and the Personal Health Service, but the gap is
bridged to some extent by the arrangement whereby I am also
Area Medical Officer of the Middlesex County Council and therefore
find it no difficult matter to keep myself informed continuously of
my actions in both capacities—in fact, an improved version of
Jekyll and Hyde, with, I hope, only the better characteristics
evident.
The main aspects of the Environmental Health Services are
covered in the various paragraphs of my report, and it is only
necessary for me to refer briefly to a few points.
The incidence of infectious disease was greater than in the
previous year, due mainly to the increase in the number of cases
of measles, which characteristically tends to occur in two-year
cycles.
The number of cases of pulmonary tuberculosis showed a
welcome decrease, mostly amongst females, and it was noted that
although there was a slight overall decrease amongst the males,
the higher age groups showed an increase over the previous year.
The reasons for this must, I feel, remain at present a matter of
conjecture.
For the first time on record there were no cases of diphtheria.
Although I am convinced that this achievement is mainly due to
diphtheria immunisation, I must again this year emphasise that
the number of parents accepting this service for their children is
not sufficiently high to warrant any sense of security.