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To the Chairman aNd Members of the Chigwell
Urban District Council
THE CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS.
I have pleasure in. presenting the Annual Report of the Medical
Officer of Health for the year 1969, which includes the Annual Report of
the Chief Public Health Inspector, This Report is compiled in accordance
with the Public Health Regulations 1959.
There were no significant changes or- developments affecting the
work of the Public Health Department during the year, but two matters of
general topical interest are worthy of mention. First is the concern
which has been felt thaT everything possible is not being done to prevent
the spread of tuberculosis other infectious diseases among and by
immigrants from countries where infections are more prevalent and housing
standards and other preventive measures less satisfactory, than in this
country., Some members of the Council may recall that , as long ago as
1956, when Hungarian refugees were brought from London Airport to Grange
Farm in large numbers I tried to establish routine health checks as they
arrived, but. Government approval was withheld,, Notwithstanding the upsurge
of immigration since that time, there is still no routine X-ray, testing
or immunisation on arrival in this country, and of the 2 .,000 annual deaths
in the United Kingdom from tuberculosis, as many as 20% are diagnosed for
the first time at Coroners' postmortem examinations® Only one X-ray
unit has been installed (at London Airport). Some immigrants are
advised at the airports to report for a health check after reaching
their final destination, but this is not often done,, Although this
District is not much affected at present, a number of students from
overseas do enrol at Loughton College of Further Education, and efforts
are made to ensure that they, as well as other new arrivals from abroad,
are notified to the Local Health Authority and visited, The Mass X-ray
surveys of the general public, as shown elsewhere in this report, are
no longer producing worthwhile resuIts, and more cases of tuberculosis
are likely to be discovered ana brought to treatment, by concentrating
attention on the special groups such as the immigrant population.
The second matter of general interest is the official action
taken by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (Circular 80/69)
to ensure that any asbestos waste disposed of does not present a danger
to public health. It has been known for many years that inhaling of
asbestos dust or fibres can cause scarring of the lungs leading to
cancer many years later, and great care is taken to protect workers in
the industry from this hazard. The growth in the uses ol this unique
material over the past fifty years has resulted in its becoming a
fairly common pollutant of man's environment, Although the quantities
and risks of inhalation by the general public are exceedingly small,
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