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6
On the 1st November, Mrs. I. Beck, Matron of Castelnau Wartime
Day Nursery, left the Corporation's service and was replaced
by Mrs. M. Heard, who commenced duties upon the 15th November.
SANITARY INSPECTION OF THE DISTRICT.
The suspension of routine housing inspections and similar inspections
in accordance with Ministry of Health instructions still continues.
Work in connection with housing has been restricted to remedying
defective conditions in dwelling-houses discovered in the course of
other work, or on complaint.
PREVALENCE OF, AND CONTROL OVER, INFECTIOUS
DISEASES.
Particulars of the incidence and distribution of the cases of infectious
disease notified during the year 1943 are set out in Tables 21-24 in the
Appendix, in which the number of cases removed to hospital and the
number of deaths in the district from these diseases are also given.
Two cases of typhoid fever and one of paratyphoid fever occurred
in the borough during the year. Despite the assistance of an expert
from the Ministry of Health, the sources of infection in these cases
were not definitely traced.
There was an epidemic of scarlet fever in the borough amounting
to 184 cases. The incidence was mainly among infants and junior
school children. One baby died of toxic scarlet fever, so raising the
death rate for this disease to 0.03 per 1,000 population.
None of the cases of diphtheria occurring during the year had
received a course of immunising injections.
DIPHTHERIA IMMUNISATION.
During the year, consequent upon the Ministry of Health Circular
2,713, a personal canvass of parents with children under five years of
age was carried out by the Health Visitors in an endeavour to get
every child in that age group protected against diphtheria at an early
age.
Propaganda of this character is, of course, a routine practice of
the health visiting staff, but this intensive canvass produced very good
results among those who had not already been persuaded to have their
children immunised.
PROTECTION AGAINST WHOOPING COUGH.
The Council's scheme for the free inoculation of children against
whooping cough continues in operation. Children attending war-time
day nurseries and those whose parents are home-visited by Health
Visitors have been offered the facilities. The response has not been
as good as in the case of diphtheria immunisation, possibly because