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The Council first made arrangements for immunising Wiilesden children against diphtheria in May, 1927.
Immunisation was carried out at the Kilburn Health Centre and the Municipal Hospital. More recently, when the
number of applicants has been large enough, immunisation sessions have been arranged in the schools. Since
November, 1912, sessions have also been held regularly at each of the Council's Health Centres.
Pamphlets on diphtheria prevention and copies of the broadcast of the Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry
of Health have been distributed in considerable quantities and notices and articles have been put in the Press. The
most effective method, however, of ensuring the immunisation of the child population is by the personal contact
of the Health Visitor with the mother in the clinics and in the home.
When the Health Visitors visit children aged 9 months or over under the Maternity and Child Welfare Scheme
they draw attention of mothers to the facilities existing for immunisation against diphtheria and whooping cough
in order that they may think the matter over and have their children immunised at about 1 year of age if they so
desire. The Health Visitors have this question of diphtheria and whooping cough immunisation in mind at each
subsequent visit until the child has been immunised. They further endeavour to obtain the parents' consent to
another single dose shortly before the child reaches 5 years of age.
Leaflets concerning diphtheria prevention, with form on the back for parents' consent, have been sent to head
teachers for distribution to their scholars. A high percentage of these forms are returned, duly signed, to the teachers.
When immunisation sessions are held at the schools the mothers often bring their younger children to be immunised
at the same time.
There were 12 cases of diphtheria in Wiilesden in 1947. There were no deaths.
Enteric Fever.—-1 cases were notified in 1947.
Dysentery.—5 cases were notified in 1947.
Malaria.—No cases were notified in 1947.
Infectious Diseases of the Central Nervous System.—Poliomyelitis and Polio-encephalitis (see Special
Report), Cerebro-spinal Fever and Encephalitis Lethargica.—92 cases of these diseases were notified in 1947,
as against 17 in 1946, 20 in 1945, 16 in 1944, 20 in 1943, 35 in 1942, 29 in 1941, 38 in 1940, 18 in 1939, 24 in 1938,
22 in 1937, and 14 in 1936. 7 proved fatal, giving a fatality rate of 7 -6 per cent, of notified cases. 13 cases were
notified as Cerebro-spinal Fever. Of these 13 cases 9 proved to be Cerebro-spinal Fever and 3 were found in
hospital to be suffering from Poliomyelitis and 1 Cervical Adenitis.
The ages of the 9 cases which proved to be Cerebro-spinal Fever were as follows :—
Under 1 year of age . . 1 Between 10 and 15 years of age 0
Between 1 and 2 years of age. . 1 15 ,, 20 „ ,, 0
„2 „3 " „„ 1 „20 „35 „ „ 0
,, 3 ,, 4 ,, ,, 1 ,, 35 ,, 4o tt ,, 0
4 „5 „ 1 „45 „65 „ 1
,, 5 „10 „,, . . 3 65 years of age and over 0
The months in which the 9 cases occurred were as follows:—
January, 1947 2 May, 1947 . . 0 September, 1917 0
February, 1947 . . 1 June, 1947 . . 1 October, 1947 1
March, 1947 . . . . 0 July, 1947 . . 0 November, 1947 1
April, 1947 . . 3 August, 1947 . . 0 December, 1947 0
2 of these 9 cases which proved to be Cerebro-spinal Fever died. These patients were aged 2 years and 63 years.
In addition, 2 further deaths were recorded as Cerebro-spinal Fever. The patients were children of under
2 years of age.
79 cases of Poliomyelitis were notified. (See Special Report.) These include 6 cases of Polio-encephalitis.
In addition, 2 deaths were recorded as Acute Poliomyelitis after post-mortem examination without inquest,
one a child of 9 years and one adult of 29 years.
There were no cases of Encephalitis Lethargica notified.
Report on the Anterior Poliomyelitis Epidemic in 1947.—The epidemic in England and Wales was
about four-and-a-half times greater than any previous epidemic.
In Wiilesden the first case occurred on 17th June and was admitted to the Municipal Hospital on 27th June,
when the onset of paralysis indicated the diagnosis. Altogether, 89 Wiilesden residents were notified as suffering
from the disease, and of these 67 were admitted to the Municipal Hospital, where the diagnosis was confirmed in
28 patients, one of whom died. The average stay in the Municipal Hospital was 38i days. 16 confirmed cases
were admitted to other hospitals, including one man admitted to the Central Middlesex County Hospital, with a
diagnosis of botulism, who died, the post-mortem examination showing Polio-Encephalitis. One boy of 7 years
died at home of Polio-Encephalitis before the arrival of a doctor, making 45 confirmed cases in all, with 3 deaths.
31 cases had paralysis ; 11 of these patients were transferred to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital at Stanmore
on discharge from the Municipal Hospital, and 19 were discharged to their own homes and remained under
the treatment and supervision of the Orthopaedic Department. One case in hospital died with paralysis.