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and Wales; this disease was hitherto notifiable in certain areas only. In addition, tetanus and yellow fever are
made notifiable for the first time in this country. Membranous croup, erysipelas and scarlatina, which were
listed as notifiable diseases in the Public Health Act, 1936, have been omitted from the new Regulations as
irrelevant to modern conditions; and acute primary pneumonia, acute influenzal pneumonia, puerperal pyrexia
and acute rheumatism which were hitherto notifiable under Regulations made under Section 143 of the Public
Health Act, 1936, cease to be notifiable.
The diseases now notifiable 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
By an Order made under Section 50 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968, the notification
fee payable to practitioners (including those in hospitals and chest clinics) was increased to 5/- from 1st
October, 1968. Previously the fee was 2/6d. for those in general practice and 1/- for others.
A summary of notified and confirmed cases for 1967 and 1968 is shown in Table 4.
Diphtheria
There were no cases in the Borough during 1968.
Dysentery
The number of confirmed cases (33) was considerably less than in the previous year (120). There
were no outbreaks at any of the day nurseries.
Food Poisoning
35 confirmed cases and their contacts were dealt with during the year. Where food handlers were
involved, they were excluded from work or given other duties. Three cases contracted the infection whilst on
holiday abroad.
Measles
There were 1,367 cases of measles notified, the greater number occurring during the last quarter of
the year—possibly the forerunner of a biennial epidemic, but with the introduction of measles vaccination in
May, the number of cases should not assume the proportions of previous outbreaks.
Poliomyelitis
There were no cases in the Borough this year.
Smallpox
There were no cases in the Borough. Seven suspected cases under surveillance were found to have
chickenpox. Two other people were kept under observation, having travelled in a plane with a confirmed case,
but were free from infection.
Typhoid and Paratyphoid
Two cases of typhoid fever were confirmed. The first case was a man, aged 27 years, who arrived
from India on 24th July and who was unwell on the plane. On 27th July he consulted a general practitioner
and was treated for pyrexia of unknown origin. On 4th August he was admitted to hospital and subsequently
was confirmed as suffering from typhoid fever. The second case was a boy, aged five years, who was believed
to have been infected by his sister who had recently arrived from the West Indies and who was found to be
a carrier. In each case, contacts were kept under strict surveillance.
There were no cases of paratyphoid.
Whooping Cough
There was a decrease in the number of confirmed cases (111) compared with last year (163).
Ophthalmia Neonatorum
There was no impairment of vision in the four confirmed cases.
Infective Jaundice
On 1st June, 1968, this disease became notifiable to all Medical Officers of Health in accordance
with the Public Health (Infective Jaundice) Regulations, 1968, and from this date to the end of the year 52
cases were notified, of which 51 were confirmed.
It is considered that general notification will assist Medical Officers of Health to obtain more precise
information concerning the incidence of infective jaundice and the circumstances in which the various forms
of the disease are spread. Such information could well lead to useful measures of control. Particular attention,
for example, has been focussed on the transmission of jaundice by the use of contaminated syringes or needles