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Prevalence and Control of
Infectious Diseases
From the table of infectious diseases set out on page 37 it
will be seen that 1,400 cases of infectious disease were notified
during the year, as against 1,088 in 1950. The Infectious Sickness
Rate for the district was therefore 19.22, as compared with 14.67
during the previous year.
There is little to add to the remarks relating to infectious
diseases contained in the Annual Reports for the past few years.
The type of infectious disease met with has continued mild on
the whole, with very few complications or deaths, and an extremely
limited need for admission to hospital.
This applies particularly to such conditions as measles,
pertussis and scarlet fever, where the diseases are quite different
from the entities which we knew and feared before the war.
Although I have tried to bring this fact to the notice of burgesses
in talks, newspaper articles and by the circulation of the magazine,
"Better Health," it would still appear that the occurrence of even
the mildest case of infectious disease, particularly scarlet fever, in
a child, is very often regarded as a minor catastrophe. Although
no one should belittle the possible effects of any infectious disease,
and although adequate steps should be and are, in fact, taken to
carry out proper treatment, isolation, supervision of contacts and,
where necessary, terminal disinfection, there can be little doubt
that a certain degree of anxiety is being caused by measures which
do not seem to achieve any very obvious purpose. Thus, contacts
are kept away from school in accordance with existing regulations,
while parents are unduly worried, either as to the care of cases, or
as to the health and safety of such of their children who may be
contacts.
I would again state that we observe existing regulations, and
that we will continue to do so until these regulations are altered.
This usually means that each case must be judged on its merits,
as the regulations do permit of a certain degree of latitude. It is
not always easy to explain the situation to parents in language
which they can understand, as the issues involved are complicated,
and depend upon so many, varying circumstances. I am always
glad to discuss such matters with parents, either individually or at
meetings. I find these discussions most helpful, and am not
unoptimistic that they have a cumulative effect.
Apart from the virtual disappearance of several major infectious
diseases from our monthly list of notifications, and the
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