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ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH
FOR THE YEAR 1963
August, 1964.
To the Chairman and Members of the
Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
During 1963 further progress was made towards the integration of the Urban District into
the proposed new London Borough of Hillingdon. It is pleasing to be able to report that in
this, one of the last years of the District as a separate entity, there was no untoward event,
locally, in the public health field. This state of affairs was not universal - there were epidemics
of infectious disease in various parts of the world, and with the great increase in modern travel,
these inevitably had their local repercussions, involving investigation and surveillance of
contacts. Typhoid fever was one condition which caused some anxiety, but fortunately no case
occurred in the district among any of the exposed contacts.
The occurrence of epidemics, even though not happening locally, serves to remind us of
the continuing need for vigilance. It also helps to emphasize the need, not only for the usual
measures of hygiene, but also for the protection of as many individuals as possible by means of
modern inoculation techniques. The place of vaccination in protecting travellers and service
personnel against smallpox has been mentioned in previous reports and its importance - particularly
in a district so close to a major airport - cannot be overstressed. Protection against other infections
continues to be necessary continually. Although, once again, there was no case of diphtheria in
the district, this happy state of affairs will only persist so long as parents continue to present their
children for the full course of immunisation. As in the previous year, no case of poliomyelitis
occurred - this is in marked contrast to the position existing a few years ago, when there was great
fear of this disease, before the introduction of either the injected or the oral vaccine. Success
in the control of certain of the infectious diseases brings inevitably its own drawbacks - parents
are more difficult to convince of the necessity of having their infants protected against dangers
of which they have no experience, and which they no longer see around them. The more successfully
infectious diseases are controlled, the harder becomes the effort involved in controlling them.
As expected, there was the biennial wave of measles cases - 1291 compared with 46 in the
previous year - with one death in a complicated case. Research is at present in progress with a
view to finding a suitable viccine which will prevent this disease, and which possibly will be able
to be incorporated with the other injection materials at present in use. Only time will tell whether
or not this idea will be successful. If it is, then it will be a further great step forward in infectious
disease control.
The other local statistics show no changes of significance. There were fewer infant deaths,
but the total numbers being dealt with are not large enough to expect this to be more than a
welcome annual variation. The causes of these deaths are set out individually in the report, and
it will be seen that they are all due to conditions about which we know very little. The only hope
here lies in intensive research and meticulous ante-natal care, which of course is being applied now
to the best of our ability.