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With regard to the more personal health services which have a
bearing on the prevention of Infectious Disease, mention should
be made of the inauguration of vaccination against Poliomyelitis.
4,411 children between the ages of 2 years and 9 years were registered
by their parents to receive vaccination, but material was available
to vaccinate only 443 children by two injections. For a variety of
reasons 43 children received only one injection. The complete
safety of the vaccine supplied was proved and no untoward reactions
occurred. Although it is too early to assess completely the efficiency
of the vaccine, no vaccinated child has developed Poliomyelitis
up to date.
Reference should also be made to the Report of an investigation
undertaken by the Medical Research Council which established the
value of B.C.G. vaccination (Bacille Calmette—Guerin) in the
prevention of Tuberculosis, and showed that the vaccination of
school-leavers may be expected to reduce the number of cases of
Tuberculosis occurring between the ages of 14 years and 17 years
by about half. During the year under review, preparations were,
therefore, made to offer B.C.G. vaccination to about 1,500 school
children between their 13th and 14th birthdays. It is felt that
this procedure will add an impetus to the progress already made in
combatting Tuberculosis in the District.
With regard to infectious disease I am glad to report that, as
has been the case for several years, there were no cases of diphtheria,
smallpox, encephalitis, nor typhoid fever, and that there were
only three cases of poliomyelitis and two of meningococcal infection.
The number of notifications of respiratory tuberculosis and scarlet
fever were as low as they have ever been, and there were only
10 deaths from respiratory tuberculosis and one death from poliomyelitis.
The encouragingly low figure of 10 deaths from respiratory
tuberculosis indicates the success being achieved in combatting
this disease and focuses attention on the alarming situation arising
with regard to cancer of the lung and bronchus which accounted
for 55 deaths during the year, an increase of 3 over last year. Of
these 55, only 3 were females and 5 of the males and 1 of the females
were under the age of 50 years.
There was an increase in the number of cases of whooping
cough but, as expected, a very marked reduction in the number of
cases of measles.
There was also an increase in that mild but troublesome form
of diarrhoea, Sonne Dysentery. This infection tends to be seasonal