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Prevalence of and Control over
Infectious and Other Diseases.
From1 Table V, on page 78, it will be seen that 217 causes of
infectious disease were notified during the year, as against 199 in
1936 and 270 in 1935, an increase of 18 over the previous year,
but 53 less than the total of two years ago. These' 217 oases
represent infection in 211 houses.
The infectious Sickness Rate for the district was 3.3 as against
3.1 during 1936 and 4.3 during 1935.
From these figures it will be apparent that the low rate for the
past few years has continued. At the time of writing this Report,
however, it is already evident that we are leaving the trough and
that the figure for 1938 will show a. definite rise. As I pointed
out in last year's Annual Report, this position is inevitable. No
matter what precautions are taken in the way of adequate housing,
sanitation, environmental hygiene, etc., infection will still occur.
Years of relative immunity against infectious! disease have
left us with a comparatively unprotected population. Short of
complete, artificial immunity against all major infectious diseases,
at present merely a Utopian dream, that population remains open
to risk. Fortunately, the general measures to which I have already
referred should play their part, not in eliminating infectious
disease from our midst, but in raising the thresh hold of resistence of
those attacked, thus producing a milder type of infection.
The ward distribution of the cases of infectious disease notified
during the year was as follows—
1936. 1937.
South Ward 48 60
Middle Ward 63 57
North-West Ward 43 42
North-East Ward 45 58
The above figures show very little deviation,1 from those of the
past few years, a remark which applies equally to the ward distribution
of individual infectious disease, set out, on the following pages.
The notification of these diseases was the means of causing the
inspection, apart from the ordinary inspections, of 182 premises.
During such inspections, 21 houses were found to contain sanitary
defects, consisting chiefly, as previously, of defective water-closets,
dampness and want of cleansing. These defects have all been
remedied.
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