View report page

in our schools. We adopted a system of regular visitation of schools,
parents being invited to bring the children for reinforcing doses
after 4 to 5 year intervals or to have them inoculated for the first
time. It can now be claimed that regular 4 to 5 yearly reinforcing
doses are available to all school-children in Southgate, and that
protection is continued from school entry until the pupil is ready to
leave. So far as I am aware, our system is one of the most complete
in any area.
In addition to visiting maintained schools, arrangements were
made during 1947 to extend an invitation to parents of children
attending selected private schools in the Borough, for the purpose
of carrying out reinforcing doses and immunisation generally. The
response to this invitation has been very gratifying. Up to the time
of writing this report four private schools have been visited. During
these visits 370 children received reinforcing doses, while 20 were
immunised for the first time.
A particularly gratifying feature of the combined method of
immunising against diphtheria and pertussis is the fact that the
number of schick-positive reactions met with after three months is
very small and definitely less than was the case when protection
against diphtheria alone was provided. While it must be admitted
that reactions following the combined method are more frequent than
in the single type of protection, they are not such as to militate
against the method or to affect adversely the attitude of parents.
Since the first immunisation clinic was set up in Southgate in
1933, 12,732 children have been immunised against diphtheria.
The effect of this campaign can now be clearly seen. If one takes the
seven-year periods from 1927 to 1947, a steady decline in the number
of cases and deaths is observed. The actual figures are as follows:—
The fall in the case rate and the death rate is even better illustrated
if the averages for the three seven year periods are examined.
These were as follows:—
No. of cases. No. of deaths.
1927-1933
1934-1940
1941-1947
234
143
52
11
9
1
Average No. of Average No. of
cases per year. Deaths ver year
1927-1933
1934-1940
1941-1947
33.4
20.4
7.4
1.6
1.3
0.14
49