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The Infectious Diseases (Prevention) Act, 1890.
The Public Health Acts Amendment Act, 1890.
The Public Health Acts Amendment Act 1907 (Sections
19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 31 and 33 in Part II., and Section
51 in Part III.).
(4) Chemical and Bacteriological Work during the Year.
No laboratory is attached to the Public Health Department,
but the County Laboratory, established at
Maidstone, carries out any necessary bacteriological examinations.
Under present arrangements each medical
man practising in the District is supplied by the County
Medical Officer with the necessary apparatus for taking
swabs or blood, and when taken these are forwarded to
Maidstone for examination. Reports on the results
found are forwarded both to the medical man concerned,
and also to myself as Medical Officer of Health, and at
the same time fresh apparatus is forwarded to the medical
man to replace the one used.
During 1913, 184 swabs were sent for examination
for Diphtheria Bacilli. Of these 16 were sent by Medical
Practitioners, 4 with positive and 12 with negative results
; 11 were sent by myself from persons who had been
in contact with cases of Diphtheria, and 2 were found to
be harbouring the Bacillus in their throats, although they
had no clinical symptoms of the disease. The remaining
157 were swabs taken from convalescent patients in the
Sanatorium, 77 proved to be positive, and 80 negative.
During the same period 17 specimens of sputum, and
1 of pleuritic effusion were sent up for examination for the
presence of the Tubercule Bacillus; the result was positive
in 6 cases, and negative in 11 cases where sputum was
examined, and negative in the case of the examination of
pleuritic fluid.
D.—Prevalence of and Control over Acute
Infectious Diseases.
There were 176 cases of Infectious Disease (not including
cases of Tuberculosis) notified during 1913, as
compared with 141 in 1912. Of these 115 were Scarlet
Fever, 38 Diphtheria, 11 Erysipelas, 10 Enteric Fever,
and 2 Puerperal Fever.