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MEDICAL OFFICER'S ANNUAL REPORT SHEET 14 OF DRAFT.
Malaria, Dysentery & Trench Fever.
No notifications have been received under the regulations of
January 1919, with the exceptions of a few cases of Dysentery notified
from the Mental Hospital. This Dysentery is not of the type occurring
in tropical and sub-tropical countries, and so far as this District
is concerned we have no evidence that these "War Diseases" have
increased or even established themselves.
Measures taken on the Notification of Infectious disease.
Steam Disinfection of bedding etc. is practised, Room disinfection
by spraying, and the use of aerial disinfectants such as Sulphurdi-oxide
and formalin, but the chief measures of stripping, and
thorough cleansing are more reliable. It is doubtful whether rooms
and furniture can be properly disinfected, without serious damage
to the contents. The public have however been educated to expect
some form of chemical disinfection to take place after notifiable
infectious disease and undoubtedly this indirectly leads to a more
thorough cleansing and aeration of the infected premises, than
would perhaps take place, if no work of this nature was carried
out, It is noteworthy that a second case of infectious disease
seldom takes place in a house where the patient is removed to the
isolation hospital promptly and thorough cleansing has been carried
out.
An analysis of the cases of notifiable diseases will be found
attached to this report.
GENERAL HOUSING CONDITIONS IN THE AREA.
The general,housing is good and the district Is rapidly
developing.
Building activity is general throughout the district.
Since the end of 1920 545 houses have been built and occupied
by private enterprise, and 121 by the local authority under the
Assisted Housing Schemes.
The new assessments vary from £20 to £96 averaging about £28.
The erection of houses by private enterprise for letting has
ceased for the time being, all the houses recently erected and in
course of erection are for sale only and it is remarkable how
quickly such houses are occupied.
There are still some of the old houses empty, some have
remained so for a long time the owners refusing to let.
As houses become empty and so uncontrolled by the Increase of
Rent & Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Acts they are readily
re-occupied at greatly increased rents.
The new houses are mostly occupied by persons formerly residing
outside the district and owing to high rents there is still a
considerable amount of overcrowing in the Central & South Wards.
In certain blocks of houses in the South Ward the overcrowding is
acute particularly in the Avenue District and the Sydney & Cromwell
Roads.
The people occupying these houses either cannot or will not
afford to pay more than about 8/- per week consequently we have
houses containing two and three families which were only intended
to house one family.