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PREVALENCE OF, AND CONTROL OVER
INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
Four hundred and seventy cases of infectious
disease were notified during the year 1940. Cases
of Measles and Whooping Cough are included for
the first complete year since these diseases became
notifiable. Excluding Measles and Whooping Cough,
which have short cycles of prevalence, other infectious
diseases showed a decline of forty cases. The incidence
of Scarlet Fever and Diphtheria remained low.
Enteric infections were few. The number of cases
of Pneumonia ' was much reduced. There was an
increase in cases of Cerebro-Spinal Fever, which is
in accordance with the higher general prevalence of
this disease, but the cases were sporadic and no
epidemic conditions existed. No case of Anterior
Poliomyelitis was notified.
SPRAY INFECTIONS.
The importance of the prevention of spray infections
from the nose and throat cannot be over-emphasised
at a time when even temporary incapacity means loss
of national effort. The restricted ventilation resulting
from black-out conditions and air-raid protection
increases the danger of spray infections.
In homes and in shelters, persons with catarrhal
conditions of the throat or nose or with active cough
should separate themselves as far as possible from
their companions and bv the judicious and frequent
use of the handkerchief interrupt the passage of those
invisible particles of infection which are sprayed by
coughs and sneezes over a wide range. It should be
remembered that nearly all the commoner infectious
diseases are spread by spray from the throat and nose.
Scarlet Fever.—One hundred and twenty-one cases
were notified, a decrease of ten cases. Of these nine
were Institutional cases. The disease was generally
mild. The case rate for the Borough was 1.64 per
1,000 of population, compared with a case rate of
1.63 for England and Wales.
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