View report page

to hold a watching brief, prepared to change our attitude in the
light of experience and information.
So far as housing and factories are concerned, the remarks
set out in last year s Annual Report still hold. I continue to
visit factories from time to time since, although the Medical
Officer of Health has limited powers in this field we should
obviously know what is going on so that we are familiar with the
hazards and can attempt to deal with such conditions as are likely
to have significance.
I am not yet in a position to report fully on the housing
survey which has been taking place under the Housing (Rents and
Repairs) Act 1953. This work is well in hand and will be the
subject of a comprehensive report submitted to the proper Committee
of the Borough Council during 1955. There can be no doubt
that this survey will have a far reaching effect. Not only in
the field of infectious disease but in relation to the health
of the community in its wider aspect.
I would conclude this section of the Report by making refer
ence to influenza.Towards the end of 1953 the Ministry of Health
asked us to supply information on the prevalence of influenza
particularly the specific type of influenza complicated by
pneumonia and by cerebral sequelae. I communicated on several
occasions with general practitioners and obtained a miscellaneous
bag of information which I correlated and transmitted to the
Ministry, At that time there did not appear to be any evidence
that influenza was unduly prevalent. Later however the number
of cases did increase so much so that we might have had to put
into operation certain emergency domiciliary nursing measures
for which we were fully prepared. Fortunately the number of
. serious complications and deaths gave no cause for alarm.. This
however, is an example of the type of co operation which one
heartily endorses Only when the central authority the local
authority and the body of general practitioners concerned are
prepared to work together interchanging information to the fullest
possible extent can we say that we are ready to cope with
any situation.The fact that special measures were never necessary
in this particular instance should not be allowed to militate
against this excellent principle.
D i phther ia
For the seventh year in succession no case of diphtheria was
notified in the Borough The last death took place in 1939
Our immunisation programme is broadly speaking the same as
that set out in recent Annual Reports. Various minor modifications
have been introduced particularly to ensure the use of the most
efficient antigen and to lay down special precautions relating
to infants and children who are likely to be allergic, I intend
to embody our immunisation time table in a memorandum which will
set out in detail the programme upon which we have decided together
with those precautions considered necessary.When the time
table is ready I will furnish each general practitioner with a
copy so that we will, so fai as is possible be working along
the same lines
It was not necessary during 1954 to suspend the use of the
combined type of antigen designed to produce immunisation against
diphtheria and pertussis As will be remembered this was done
during 1953 because of the occurrence of cases of poliomyelitis
in the neighbourhood.
The immunisation figures relating to Wood Green for 1954
might be summarised as follows
24