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8
PREVALENCE OF AND CONTROL OVER INFECTIOUS
AND OTHER DISEASES.
SCARLET FEVER.
The number of cases of scarlet fever notified during the year
was thirty-two, giving an incident rate of 0.70 per thousand
population. This compares with a rate of 1.11 for England and
Wales.
All the cases were very mild and no fatalities occurred.
Fifteen cases were treated at home and seventeen removed to
hospital.
DIPHTHERIA.
For the fourth year in succession and the fifth occasion
since records were available, the district was completely free
from this disease, the last case having been notified in April,
1947.
Immunisation against diphtheria progresses smoothly and
the great majority of parents are now accepting it as a matter
of course. It is now being recommended at the age of seven
months. Under the present scheme children are given the
opportunity of receiving a reinforcing dose at intervals of 3—5
years up to school leaving age.
Under the National Health Service Act all medical practitioners
providing general medical services in the area have been
given an opportunity to provide services in the scheme of
diphtheria immunisation. This has resulted in a number of
children being done otherwise than at schools or clinics.
The following statistics refer to immunisation carried out
during the year-
Number of children immunised during the year
(pre-school, 443, school 81) 524
Number of children receiving reinforcing doses 1042
Of the above, 125 were immunised and 52 given reinforcing
doses by private practitioners.
Special efforts are made to encourage mothers to bring their
babies for immunisation in those cases where persuasion by
the health visitor has failed. A note is made of every child
aged ten months and older who has not been immunised and
the parents of these babies are circularised in regard to the
importance of immunisation against diphtheria. In many cases
this personally addressed circular succeeds where other methods
of encouragement have failed.