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Cancer.
It will be seen by the table of causes of death (page 28) that in 1947 83 cases (45 males
and 38 females) died from cancer. (See Appendix, Tables XXIII and XXIV.)
Special Infectious Diseases.
Smallpox (Variola).
No patients with smallpox or contacts of cases of smallpox were notified to the
Department during the year. No work was done under the Public Health (Smallpox)
Regulations, 1917.
There were no cases of smallpox in Southall during 1947, but 3 persons who had been
in contact with smallpox in other countries and who were returning either as soldiers or
civilians were notified to the Health Department under the Public Health (Smallpox)
Regulations, 1917. All these persons were kept under observation until the period of the
incubation of the disease was over.
Scarlet Fever (Scarlatina).
The number of notifications received during the year was 89, as compared with 67
for the previous year.
Of these, 88 were removed to the Isolation Hospital.
Diphtheria.
Nine cases of diphtheria were notified to the Health Department and admitted to the
Isolation Hospital during 1947. Of these, eight were not confirmed as diphtheria and therefore
there was only one confirmed case.
The other type of the case was naso-pharyngeal and there was temporary palatal
paralysis which resolved during hospital stay and the case was discharged cured.
Diphtheria Prevention.
The total number of attendances at the Diphtheria Immunisation Clinic during 1947
were 2,246 but a number of the children who attended the Clinic came for one injection only,
a booster dose to re-enforce previous immunisation. The number of children for the
booster dose has steadily increased as the result of persistent propaganda by word of mouth
by the doctors and health visitors, and by posters displayed at the clinics.
The number of children receiving a complete course of injections during the year was
730.
Diphtheria immunisation was carried out on Monday afternoons at the Branch Health
Centre, and on Thursday afternoons at the Featherstone Road Clinic.

Ophthalmia Neonatorum.
Four cases of ophthalmia neonatorum were notified in 1947 and all recovered during
the year.
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