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ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH
FOR THE YEAR 1962
August, 1963.
To the Chairman and Members of the
Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
1962 was comparatively uneventful as far as local public health experience was concerned.
Early in the year, however, there were five separate smallpox incidents which occurred in
other parts of England and Wales. These incidents each followed the arrival in this country
by air of a traveller from Karachi (where there was a smallpox epidemic) and as a result
there were 62 cases of smallpox and of these, 24 died. Naturally, the publicity which
accompanied these smallpox incidents led to a massive demand for vaccination and
revaccination, and this severely strained the resources available. This faith in vaccination
is, of course, very gratifying, but vaccination ought to be carried out at leisure, and not
left till an emergency arises. Again, revaccination is a very much less uncomfortable
procedure than primary vaccination, and as modern conditions of life subject people in
this country to the constant risk of a smallpox importation (a traveller from an infected
area can be here within 24 hours) all should have a primary vaccination at the best time.
This, in the opinion of the experts, is in the second year of life. Then, when the need
arises, either because of international travel, or because of contact with a case, revaccination
becomes comparatively simple, and full protection is secured more quickly than is the case
after a primary vaccination. Very many countries will only admit persons who can show
evidence of vaccination or revaccination within the previous three years, so that in these
days of extensive travel, the moral is obvious.
There was no case of diphtheria during 1962, and as expected, the number of cases
of measles fell markedly - from 1320 to 46. Measles, of course, usually shows a biennial
pattern in its incidence, so that this was not unexpected. There were only 8 cases of whooping
cough notified, and only one case of poliomyelitis - that in an adult in whom the source of
infection could not be traced. The low incidence of infectious disease strongly encourages the
pursuit of those measures of disease prevention which have proved so valuable in the past. The
existing immunisation procedures are designed to protect against smallpox, diphtheria, whooping
cough, tetanus and poliomyelitis. Efforts are continually being made to make these procedures
safer and more simple. The use of oral poliomyelitis vaccine is an illustration: a quadruple vaccine
is now practicable which cuts down considerably the number of injections required. All this work
makes protection of infants against these infectious diseases very easy - all that is required is the
co-operation of parents to ensure that the work is done. Because of the very success of the
preventive programme, leading to the virtual absence of infectious disease, it becomes more
and more difficult to persuade parents of the need for the immunisation of their children. These
infectious diseases can only be kept at bay if the immunisation level in the community is high
if this level falls, then there is a great risk that cases will once again recur, possibly with the
tragic consequences experienced in years gone by.
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