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offered no alternative method of prevention against a
serious disease which causes deaths in one child in every
10 children infected under the age of 6 years. We have
in Diphtheria Immunisation a valuable means of prevention
of this disease, and if the public will respond we
shall be able to control not only the spread of the disease
but prevent the crippling and deaths that follow.
Typhoid.
Two cases of typhoid and one of para-typhoid were
notified during the year. One of the cases of typhoid
was a contact with the epidemic in Yorkshire during the
year, whilst the other was a sporadic case whose infection
it was not possible to trace. Both infections were
kept under control without further spread. The paratyphoid
case was employed in the area of a neighbouring
Authority which had other cases of para-typhoid at the
lime when the Bromley case was notified. These sporadic
cases occur from time to time, without one being able
to account for their infection. There can be no doubt
that typhoid is a disease spread mainly by contaminated
food supply, and that modern sanitation, controlled
water, food and milk supplies, are the main reasons for
their not being wide-spread.
Other Notifiable Infectious Diseases.
Appendix IX. gives details of diseases notified in
1932, together with districts and other statistics.
The increase in pneumonia was brought about by
the influenza epidemic during the year.
No complete statistics are kept of the occurrence
of measles and whooping-cough—two diseases which
cause much invalidity among the child population.
The following table gives the incidence of infectious
disease in the schools in Bromley during 1932. This is
a large return and accounts for much invalidity and loss
of school attendance. Home visitation of all these cases
cannot be carried out as the staff available is not sufficient
for the purpose, and in consequence much useful
public health work is missed.