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The age distribution of notifiable disease during 1950 is shown in Table V. An interesting feature
of the present half century is the reduction in deaths due to infectious disease. In the Borough infectious
diseases including tuberculosis caused 16.4 per cent. of the total deaths in 1900-04 as compared with 4.8
per cent. in 1946-50—a tribute to the progress of preventive medicine.
Scarlet fever.—This disease continued to be of a mild type. No death from this disease has
occurred in the Borough since 1937. Of the 92 cases, 25 were admitted to hospital.
Diphtheria.—One case of diphtheria occurred in the Borough during 1950. The person concerned
had been immunised in 1941, repeated tests failed to produce evidence of the presence in the throat of the
diphtheria bacillus, the illness was uneventful, but the medical officer of the fever hospital considered the
patient to be suffering from a " very mild attack of diphtheria."
The occurrence of an occasional case of diphtheria serves to remind us that only by continuing to
immunise a considerable proportion of our children can this disease be kept under control. There has
been a reduction in the number of children attending for immunisation against diphtheria. This is not
wholly due to the fall in the birth rate, but undoubtedly has been influenced by the publicity given to the
suggestion that prophylactic inoculations may have some association with the development of paralysis
when poliomyelitis is prevalent. Last year I wrote " the memory of the public of the ravages of diphtheria
is fading, but is alive to the distressing features of poliomyelitis. The sure safeguard against diphtheria
should not be lightly abandoned because of a possible connection with a disease of whose origin, spread
and control so little is known " and so far, I see no reason to modify that statement.
Erysipelas.—Though 12 cases were notified no death was due to this disease.
Pneumonia.—There was a slight increase in the notifications of pneumonia when compared with
1949. The death rate from pneumonia per 1,000 population was 0.3 as compared with 0.5 in 1949 and
0.4 in 1948. Of the total pneumonia deaths 10 per cent. occurred at age 0-4 years and 80 per cent. at age
65 years and over.
Cerebro-Spinal Fever.—No case of meningococcal infection was notified during the year.
Epidemic Encephalitis.—No case was notified during the year.
Poliomyelitis and Polioencephalitis.—These names describe two types of infection by the same
virus : in the former the spinal cord is affected and in the latter the brain bears the brunt of the infection.

During the same period there were 58 deaths due to diphtheria, 48 due to measles and 33 due to
whooping cough.
Of the 9 cases in 1950 one was a soldier notified from Hounslow Barracks and one was a resident
of Brentford and Chiswick notified from West Middlesex Hospital. Of the 7 local residents 4 were males
and 3 females and their ages ranged from 1 to 57 years. One child aged 1 year who developed paralysis of
the legs had been inoculated in the arm against diphtheria and whooping cough three months previously.
Of these 7 patients two developed no paralysis, one had mild paralysis and after discharge from the fever
hospital attended hospital as an out-patient for physiotherapy, and the remaining five were transferred
from the fever hospital to orthopaedic hospitals.
No closure of schools, swimming baths, children's cinemas, etc., was adopted with a view to controlling
the spread of infection.
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