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higher incidence of Scarlet Fever that parents should avoid
sending children to school in the early phase of infection by
recognising catarrhal symptoms and transient rashes as suggestive
of an infection. Patients returned from hospital after Scarlet
Fever often develop mild catarrh of the throat and nose which
brings down residual infection from the recesses of the nasopharynx.
These mild 'colds' after hospital treatment should indicate
retention of the child at home until the catarrh has ceased.
Within the schools the prevention of spray infection depends on
the free use of available floor space and the maximum spacing of
the children, and the liberal supply of fresh air as the chief
diluent of infection.
DIPHTHERIA:- Twenty six cases of Diphtheria were notified,
a reduction of twenty cases. Twelve cases were from institutions.
There was one death of a child aged seventeen months from toxaemia.
This child had not been immunised. Of the twenty six notified
cases, one was a child who had received injections for immunisation,
and had a mild attack. The case rate was 0.36 per 1000 of
population, compared with 1.05 per 1000 of population for England
and Wales.
DIPHTHERIA IMMUNISATION:- The fact that Diphtheria is a
very dangerous disease cannot be over emphasised. Immunisation
gives protection against the infection, and against mortality from
the disease. The response to and local propaganda has
been good, and those parents who have not yet responded should
be aware that while a proportion of children remains unprotected,
serious and fatal cases of diphtheria will continue to occur.
The number of children immunised against Diphtheria during
1942 was two thousand seven hundred and thirty-six, bringing the
total number of childred treated to eight thousand and forty-nine,
representing 60.7 per cent of the total children. Of this total
two thousand and. eighty nine represents a percentage of 47.5 of
the children under five years of age and five thousand nine hundred
and sixty represents a percentage of 66.2 of the children between
five years and fifteen years of age,
A renewed effort was made to obtain the immunisation of children
aged one year in co-operation with the health visitors. The
ideal is for a child to be immunised at the age of one year and to
receive a reinforcing injection at the age of five years just before
entering school. Forty three per cent of the children reaching
one year of age during 1942 were immunised under tho Council's
scheme. This is satisfactory as an index of the growing
appreciation by the parents of early protection. At the end of
the year the Council had under consideration a scheme for closer
co-operation with tho medical practitioners of the Borough in
securing the immunisation of younger children, and at the time of
writing this report a scheme is in operation whereby persons with
incomes under £4-20 per annum may have their children under five
years of age immunised by their own doctor free of cost.
Two clinics for Diphtheria Immunisation are held weekly,
(1) At the Public Hall, No. 1, Hill Road, Sutton, every
Friday at 2 p.m.
(2) At the Clinic, Priory Crescent, Cheam, every Thursday,
at 3 p.m.
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