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3 cases were still in the Municipal Hospital and 4 in other hospitals at the end of the year.
29 notified cases, 18 of which were confirmed, were admitted to the Municipal Hospital from districts outside
Willesden.
The following table shows the age distribution of notifications, and of confirmed cases, among Willesden
residents :

The percentages shown must be accepted with caution, as they are based on a small number of cases, but in the
main they are similar to those for England and Wales.
Efficient preventive measures against the disease were difficult because of the uncertainty as to the method
of transmission and because the disease is often spread by healthy carriers and by mild or early cases, showing few
signs of illness. The principal task of the Public Health Department was the early discovery of these cases and the
supervision of contacts.
General practitioners were circularised immediately the first cases occurred and were offered the facilities
•of the Health Department and the Hospital for the diagnosis of suspected cases. Only 50 per cent, of the notified
cases and 42 per cent. of patients sent to the Municipal Hospital proved to be suffering from the disease, which
indicates that the general practitioners adequately used these facilities. The Health Visitors visited the home of
each notified case to follow up contacts and give general advice on methods of prevention.
All General Practitioners, Medical Officers and Health Visitors had an opportunity of seeing the Ministry
of Health's film on Poliomyelitis.
As there is evidence to show that children after tonsils operations are more susceptible to this disease, all ear,
nose and throat operations were stopped at the commencement of the epidemic. This resulted in an increase in the
waiting list of children for removal of tonsils and adenoids to about 800 at the end of the year.
Swimming baths have been suggested as a possible means of spread of the infection, but the closure of Granville
Road Baths on 28th July was due to the unsatisfactory state of the filters ; the Baths reopened on the 16th
August, with a restriction on the numbers admitted. On 2nd August the two open-air baths, at Gladstone Park
and King Edward VII Recreation Ground, were closed because the purification of the water was not entirely satisfactory,
and in addition, in the case of the King Edward Baths, a confirmed case of Poliomyelitis had regularly used
them.
After the publicity given to the removal of pig bins from the streets of Leicester, more effective means of
collection of swill from the Willesden bins were instituted by the Borough Engineer.
No case of the disease occurred in the Day Nurseries, so that the question of their closure did not arise.
The reopening of schools in September was not affected.
To sum up, whilst Willesden had an incidence of 48.6 notified, and 24.6 confirmed cases per 100,000 living,
a rate in excess of that of Greater London as a whole (20.6 notified cases per 100,000), the proportion of deaths
(1.6 per 100,000 living) was not large.
Willesden was fortunate in having adequate hospital facilities for the investigation and treatment of cases,
an efficient team of Health Visitors in the investigation of cases and full co-operation from the local doctors with the
Public Health Department.
Pneumonia and Influenza.—26.3 cases of Pneumonia were notified in 1947, as compared with 458 in 1940
and 339 in 1945. Deaths from Broncho-Pneumonia, Lobar Pneumonia and Pneumonia (unspecified) numbered
103, as compared with 93 in 1946,114 in 1945 and 86 in 1944, and deaths from Influenza 11, as compared with 16 in
1946, 4 in 1945 and 9 in 1944.
Whooping Cough.—589 cases were notified in 1947, but a total of 942 cases coming to their knowledge
were visited by Health Visitors, 573 of which occurred in children under 5 years of age. There were 6 deaths
from Whooping Cough in 1947. 4 of the children who died were under 1 year of age, 1 was between 1 and 5 years
of age, and 1 was between 5 and 10 years of age.