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41
It is evident that the epidemic in Leyton reached the "peak"
of incidence during 1930, since when the decline has been very
marked.
Notifications.— During the year 1933, the number of patients
notified as suffering from smallpox was 2—of whom 1 was notified
by a local medical practitioner and 1 by your Medical Officer of
Health as the result of investigations made by him. Both patients
were sent to hospital.
Case No. 1. Male 60 years. Vacc. in infancy. Central North
Ward.
Case No. 2. Male 6 years. Not vaccinated. Grove Green
Ward.
Institutional Treatment.—In 1932 the Leyton Corporation
entered into a three years' agreement with Walthamstow Corporation
whereby the latter reserve six beds at their Smallpox Hospital
for the reception and treatment of Leyton patients suffering from
smallpox. Details of the terms of that agreement were shown in
my Annual Report for 1932.
Chicken Pox.
In view of the possible confusion of the two conditions, and in
order to aid in the discovery of missed or undetected cases of smallpox,
the Council—on the advice of the Medical Officer of Health—
passed a resolution in January, 1930, making chicken-pox compulsorily
notifiable under the provisions of the Infectious Disease
(Notification) Act, 1889. The order was a temporary one for a
period of six months in the first place, but it has been renewed
and been in force since that time.
During 1933 notifications were received from medical practitioners
in respect of 621 persons considered to be suffering from
chicken-pox. In order to verify that these were not mild cases of
smallpox, or cases of that disease modified as a result of vaccination,
the patients were visited and examined in their homes by members
of the medical staff. In 36 instances visits by school nurses were
sufficient to obtain the necessary information, while in many cases
home visiting was not considered to be necessary, as the information
on the notification form regarding recent successful vaccination and
the occurrence of previous verified cases in the same house was
sufficient to exclude the possibility of smallpox.