London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Richmond upon Thames 1968
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Richmond]
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INFECTIOUS DISEASES
The Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations, 1968, which came into
force on the 1st October, 1968, consolidate into one instrument, with amendments, all
existing Regulations relating to notification and prevention of infectious disease.
The infectious diseases (together with food poisoning) now to be notified to the
Medical Officer of Health are: —
Acute encephalitis Ophthalmia neonatorum
Acute meningitis Paratyphoid fever
Acute poliomyelitis Plague
Anthrax Relapsing fever
Cholera Scarlet fever
Diphtheria Smallpox
Dysentery (amoebic or bacillary) Tetanus
Infective jaundice Tuberculosis
Leprosy Typhoid fever
Leptospirosis Typhus
Malaria Whooping cough
Measles Yellow fever
Notification of the diseases listed below is no longer required: —
Acute influenzal pneumonia Erysipelas
Acute primary pneumonia Membranous croup
Acute rheumatism Puerperal pyrexia
The Public Health (F ees for Notifications of Infectious Disease) Order, 1968.
Section 48 of the Health Services and Public Health Act, 1968, provides that a
medical practitioner shall notify any case or suspected case of notifiable disease or food
poisoning to the Medical Officer of Health for the district. The above Order, which
came into operation on the 1st October, 1968, requires the local authority for the
district to pay the medical practitioner a fee of five shillings for each certificate of
notification, except a certificate sent by a medical practitioner serving in the forces.
(This fee was previously two shillings and six pence if the case occurred in private
practice or one shilling if it occurred in a hospital or institution).
The number of notifications under respective legislation received during the year, compared with 1967, may be summarised as follows:
| Disease. | 1968 | 1967 |
|---|---|---|
| Dysentery | 37 | 3 |
| Encephalitis (Acute) | 1 | — |
| Erysipelas | 4 | 9 |
| Food Poisoning | 30 | 3 |
| Infective Jaundice | 49 | 34 |
| Malaria | 1 | 1 |
| Measles | 262 | 1400 |
| Meningococcal Infection | 1 | — |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 1 | 1 |
| Pneumonia (Acute) | 35 | 27 |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 1 | 1 |
| Scarlet Fever | 54 | 73 |
| Typhoid and Paratyphoid Fever | — | 3 |
| Whooping Cough | 60 | 52 |
The table on page 18 gives the number of cases notified under age groups.
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