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Typhoid Fever
One case was notified during 1956, being the first to occur in
the Borough for many years. The person concerned was a Doctor
who worked in a London hospital doing bacteriological research.
When he first developed symptoms, he was actually working with
cultures of the typhoid bacteria and he therefore diagnosed his illness
with speed and accuracy. He was admitted to hospital where he
made an uneventful recovery and no doubt made use of the opportunity
for practical study of the clinical aspects of the disease. Precautions
were taken among all members of his family to ensure that
no further cases arose. This incident was a reminder of the danger
of typhoid infection which nowadays because of modern sanitation and
water purification is no longer one of the commoner infectious diseases.
Paratyphoid Fever
One case was disovered in the Borough during the year, and
occurred in a girl aged 12 who had just returned from her summer
holidays a week previously. As this is a disease which is passed from
one person to another, usually in food, and there were no other cases
in the Finchley area, I communicated with the Medical Officer of
Health for the district of Sussex where the girl spent her holiday.
Bacteriological investigations carried out on the persons in the house
where the girl had stayed showed that although neither the man nor
his wife had been unwell, they were nevertheless carriers of the
Paratyphoid bacteria. Phage typing showed it to be the same type
as that which had caused the illness, and both persons were subsequently
given modern drug treatment until they were no longer carriers
of the infection. Members of the public are not always aware that
they can be disease carriers and yet remain without symptoms themselves,
and the work of tracing such persons is one in which the
Health Department is continually engaged to protect the health of the
population.
Influenza
Although not a notifiable disease, the Ministry of Health advised
the setting up of an Influenza Spotting Scheme, both to give warning
of an outbreak, and also to carry out virus typing investigations. Close
liaison was kept with General Practitioners, schools and pharmacists
for this reason, and in addition, 2 local Doctors agreed to keep daily
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