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36
Influenza.'—On 15th November, 1945, the Ministry of Health issued a
circular letter No. 196/45 stating the Minister had had under consideration
the action which should be taken to assist householders if infectious disease
assumed serious epidemic proportions during the winter, and that the
Minister had primarily in mind the possibility of an influenza epidemic not
requiring hospitalization on a large scale, and that he thought that local
plans made in advance of a possible emergency would be a valuable additional
insurance which local authorities would wish to do their best to prepare in
conjunction with the Government Departments concerned. The main types
of assistance mentioned were in respect of (a) Doctors and Nurses; (6) help
in the home; and (c) provision of meals.
(a) Through the County Medical Officer, arrangements were made with
the military authorities for assisting general practitioners, by
application to the Honorary Secretary of the Local Medical War
Committee. Assistance with regard to pharmacists was arranged
through the County of Essex Pharmaceutical Committee, by
application to the local representative.
(b) In regard to help in the home, communications were sent to the
following local voluntary organisations:—W.V.S., Boy Scouts'
Association (East and West Ilford), Mr. F. T. Dean (St. John
Ambulance and British Red Cross Liaison Officer), and former
Civil Defence First Aid Post personnel.
Through the good offices of the representatives of these organisations,
arrangements were made for the rendering of substantial
assistance should the need arise.
(c) With regard to the provision of meals, a scheme was envisaged by
the Borough Treasurer to supply meals from the British Restaurants
on a "cash and carry" basis. The transport for the meals service
to households would be by this Council's own vehicles, supplemented,
if necessary, by private cars, petrol for which could be
supplied from this authority's pumps.
Fortunately the anticipated epidemic did not materialize and it was
not necessary to bring the scheme into operation.
Nevertheless, during December 1945, January and February 1946, a
number of cases of Influenza, mostly attributable to infection by Influenza
virus "B," did occur. In the main the attacks were mild and the outbreak
did not assume epidemic proportions.
In this connection it may be well to view the future with caution. In
January 1943, an outbreak of virus "B" Influenza was succeeded by a lull
and later by a steadily increasing number of cases of the more severe virus
"A" type Influenza, which reached epidemic proportions in the early winter.
This previous experience may have been coincidental, but it is worthy
of note at the present time.
The incidence of influenza and its fatality rate is shown by the following
table, which shows the number of notifications of pneumonia with the
percentage death rates according to where the cases were nursed, covering a
period of 17 weeks from December, 1945, to March, 1946:—