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31
Notification of this disease has been in force in a few
areas for some time with beneficial results, and the new
regulations apply it to all parts of England and Wales.
Ophthalmia Neonatorum is defined in the regulations as
being a purulent discharge from the eyes of an infant, commencing
within twenty-one days from the date of its birth.
The obligation is now thrown on medical practitioners and
certified midwives to notify cases occurring in their practices
to the Medical Officer of Health.
Eight cases of the disease were notified during the year.
This is a small number of cases from which to draw any
conclusions, but the cases exemplify the good that may be
expected to follow the issue of the regulations.
Five of the cases were mild in character and very soon
got well without any permanent injury to the eyesight. One
case was of medium severity, only one eye being affected.
Two of the cases were of a serious nature, the infants being
admitted to the Isolation Hospital together with their
mothers. In each case it was observed by the visiting official
that the midwife had failed to comply with the rules made
by the Central Midwives Board. The circumstances were
reported in each case to the Supervising Authority.
In one case it was found that the midwife had not
notified the case to the Supervising Authority and had not
called in a doctor until the eleventh day of the illness. In
the other case the midwife neither notified the Supervising
Authority nor called in a doctor, apparently considering that
her notification to me on the fourth day of the disease
was sufficient.
There is apparently some misunderstanding amongst
midwives as to their duties when Ophthalmia Neonatorum
occurs in their practice. In a circular explanatory of the
regulations sent to all the midwives of the district early in
the year, I explained that the duty of notifying Ophthalmia