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ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
CONTROL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE
There are two main procedures in the control of infectious disease. The first is the prevention
of disease by immunisation and vaccination to protect the individual, and the second, when a case
has occurred, to trace the source of the infection and to prevent its spread.
The diseases for which protection by immunisation is given as a routine are smallpox,
diphtheria, poliomyelitis, whooping cough and tetanus; parents are actively encouraged to have
their young children protected against these diseases. A vaccine is now available for protection
against measles but during 1966 research into its efficacy had not yet been completed. During 1966
there were no cases of smallpox, diphtheria or poliomyelitis in the Borough. The Council, except
in epidemics, generally restricts its immunisation service to children up to school leaving age.
Details of the immunisation of children are given on pages 38 and 39.
Protection against other disease is available, but is not used as a routine. The main diseases
are typhoid and paratyphoid fevers which are not uncommon in parts of Europe; yellow fever and
cholera against which immunisation is required for travellers to many non-European countries, and
anthrax which may effect certain workers dealing with imported hair and animal hides.
All immunisations may be carried out by general medical practitioners with the exception
of yellow fever which is only available at centres approved by the Ministry. The centre in Camden
is the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, 4 St. Pancras Way, N.W.1.
In addition to the above procedures the Medical Officer of Health is notified of persons,
coming from places abroad where smallpox is endemic, who do not hold valid certificates of vaccination.
These persons are kept under surveillance during the incubation period of the disease to ensure
that should the person develop smallpox it is recognised at the earliest possible time.
DYSENTERY
Dysentery occurred in six of our day nurseries. Five of the day nursery outbreaks were
between the months of February and May and all were cleared by late June. The other day nursery
outbreak and two in residential nurseries were in October and November and were cleared by the
end of November, with the exception of one child from the day nursery who continued to carry the
infecting organism until April 1967. Altogether 87 cases of dysentery were notified, but a further 73
children who were contacts of the day nursery cases were found to be positive on bacteriological
examination.
MEASLES
The number of cases of measles notified was 689 compared with 1,279 during 1965.
TUBERCULOSIS
New cases of tuberculosis numbered 215 in 1966, of which 185 were pulmonary tuberculosis
and 30 were non-pulmonary. This was an increase over the numbers for 1965 when there was a total
of 166 (147 pulmonary and 19 non-pulmonary). The number of deaths from tuberculosis fell from 9
in 1965 to 6 in 1966.
OTHER INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Full details are included in the Appendix Table 3.
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