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To the Chairman and Members of the Chigwell
Urban District Council.
THE CHAIRMAN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
I have pleasure in presenting the Annual Report of the Medical
Officer of Health for the year 1964, which includes the report of the
Chief Public Health Inspector.
VITAL STATISTICS.
There was a small increase in the live birth rate, and a smaller
number of infant deaths; on the other hand, more children were still-born.
The death rate was a little less than last year, when the severe winter took
a heavy toll of old people.
Deaths from lung cancer are still increasing, and the evidence against
heavy cigarette smoking as a predisposing cause continues to accumulate. Anyone
who continues to smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day is undoubtedly playing
with fire!
CONTROL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
The only problem during the year was the control of typhoid fever
which caused considerable anxiety and required much care and vigilance in view
of outbreaks in other parts of the country, and importations of infection from
abroad. Several contacts and suspects were kept under surveillance and control,
and following the Aberdeen outbreak all returning visitors from that city were
placed under observation and a general warning and advice to the public were
issued through the local press. 322 visits were paid to food establishments
and 259 enquiries dealt with in connection with corned beef and tinned tongue
as soon as details of the suspect consignments were supplied by the Ministry
of Health. 882 tins were examined and 3 submitted for bacteriological tests
with negative results. The 2 cases of typhoid which occurred in the District
were both imported from Spain, and were unconnected with the Aberdeen outbreak
or with corned beef.
Control of infectious diseases other than typhoid fever has been
highly satisfactory, only 6 such cases requiring admission to hospital,
including 3 tuberculosis. Notifications of tuberculosis which were
abnormally high (30) in 1963, are down to 9, which confirms the opinion
given in my last report that some or all of the 13 cases discovered by the
Mass Radiography Unit's visit in 1963 would otherwise have been notified in
future years.
All persons arriving in the District from smallpox endemic areas
without valid certificates of successful vaccination during the past 3 years
were kept under surveillance in accordance with Ministry of Health instructions.
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