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83
Protection Against Whooping Cough.
At the May meeting of Leyton Public Health Committee I
submitted a special report on protection against whooping cough,
and the Council agreed with my suggestion that application should
be made to have Leyton included among the areas in which the
Medical Research Council is at present conducting a large-scale
controlled investigation into the efficacy of various preparations
of whooping cough vaccine.
The Medical Research Council has now written inviting the
Council to co-operate in the investigation, and I submit a summary
of the suggested scheme with observations and suggestions thereon.
Responsible Authority.
Among the services decentralised by Essex County Council as
Local Health Authority to Area Sub-Committees under the provisions
of the National Health Service Act, 1946 (Part III) are:—
Section 22.—Care of children who have not attained the
age of five years and are not attending primary schools maintained
by a local education authority.
Section 24.—Health visiting for the purpose of giving
advice as to the care of young children . . . and as to measures
necessary to prevent the spread of infection.
Section 26.—Vaccination against smallpox, and immunisation
against diphtheria. Any local health authority may,
with the approval of the Minister, make similar arrangements
for vaccination or immunisation against any other disease.
Section 28.—Prevention of illness.
Under the circumstances the appropriate authority for dealing
with arrangements for protection against whooping cough of young
children (aged 6 to 18 months) appears to be the Local Health
Authority rather than the Local Sanitary Authority.
Brief Outline of Scheme.
Under the general direction of the Medical Research Council
controlled tests with American products are already being undertaken
in Oxford, Manchester, Tottenham, Wembley and Edmonton,
and a certain type of British product is now being tried out in
West Ham. Leyton is now being given the opportunity of cooperating
in the investigation to ascertain:—
(a) the incidence of whooping cough among protected
and unprotected children;