View report page

THE PREVALENCE OF, AND CONTROL OVER,
INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
Diphtheria.
The incidence of Diphtheria remained low in 1935 when
there were 29 notifications as compared vvith 30 in 1934.
The disease was comparatively mild, and for the first time
for many years there is no death to report. Twenty-eight
cases were removed to hospital.
A supply of anti-toxin is kept at the Public Health
Department for the use of general practitioners, but very
little was used.
Immunisation against Diphtheria.
For a number of years the incidence of Diphtheria in
Finchley has been very low, and on this account there has
been little opportunity for children to develop natural immunity
against the disease. It seemed to me very probable
that, should Diphtheria break out in the Borough, a very
large number of children might become infected owing to
their lack of immunity, and I therefore reported to the
Public Health Committee that I considered it advisable to
offer to parents the opportunity of having their children
immunised. The Committee agreed, and it was decided in
the first place to concentrate on those children between the
ages of 2 and 8 years attending the Council's Welfare
Centres and the Elementary Schools. In certain areas it
has been found that when Diphtheria is not prevalent it has
been difficult to get parents to tak an interest in immunisation,
but I am glad to say that this has not been the
experience in Finchley. Letters setting out the value of
immunisation, together with consent forms, were distributed
in the Junior and Infant Schools and at the Welfare
Centres, and up to the time of writing this report the response
has been excellent, especially in the case of schools in
which 60% of the children under 8 years of age have been
immunised.
Previous schick-testing has been dispensed with, and
each child is given three injections at intervals of a fortnight.
At first the immunising agent used was T.A.M. but,
19