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Puerperal Pyrexia.—During the year 53 cases were notified as compared with 13 cases in 1951.
This increase is largely due to the change in the definition of puerperal pyrexia introduced by the Puerperal
Pyrexia Regulations, 1951. No woman died from puerperal or post-abortion sepsis.
Measles.—This disease was more prevalent than in 1951 but caused no death.
Whooping Cough.—The notifications of whooping cough, 86, were the lowest in the last ten years.
Facilities for immunisation against this disease are available. The condition is most fatal in young babies
and protection should be provided before the child is six months old. There is evidence that, with the
improvement in the vaccine, the protection if not complete does mitigate the severity of the attack. According
to the records 857 children received inoculations against whooping cough during the year.
Malaria.—One case of malaria was notified during the year and investigation revealed that the
infection was contracted overseas.
Undulant Fever.—One case was notified during the year. This disease is caused by the germ
responsible for contagious abortion in cattle and is usually transmitted by infected milk. No consumption
of unpasteurized milk was admitted but as the man was employed in the manufacture of fertiliser, etc.,
from condemned meat and bones it is possible that he handled infected material.
Psittacosis.—One case of this disease was brought to the notice of the Department during the
year. The patient had purchased a young parrot from a street stall. The parrot did not thrive and died
three weeks later and was almost certainly the source of the infection. At one time only birds of the parrot
family were suspected of carrying the virus but now a number of other birds such as pigeons and domestic
fowls have been found to be carrying the same type of virus. The possibility of psittacosis should be borne
in mind in any case of pneumonia or febrile illness in a person handling poultry, pigeons, budgerigars or
parrots and enquiries made as to any recent illness among the birds.
Influenza.—This disease was not very prevalent in 1952. It caused 4 deaths as compared with
33 in 1951, 6 in 1950 and 6 in 1949.
Mumps, Chicken Pox, German Measles.—These diseases are not notifiable but cases are brought
to the notice of the Department through schools, health visitors, etc. During the year the following cases
were recorded:—mumps, 59; chicken pox, 385 and German measles, 148. The latter disease has received
considerable attention recently because its occurrence in a mother during the early months of pregnancy
may result in the child being born with a congenital defect.
Fever Hospitals.—The Borough is served by the South Middlesex Infectious Diseases Hospital,
but on occasion accommodation in other fever hospitals of the North West Metropolitan Regional Hospital
Board is used. During the year 177 patients from the Borough were admitted to these hospitals. Close
contact is maintained between the hospitals and the Health Department so that any necessary action can
be taken.
Disinfection.—The disinfection of bedding, etc., is done at the South Middlesex Infectious Diseases
Hospital while the disinfection of homes is carried out by the disinfectors on the Health Department staff.
In 1946, after considering a report on the subject, the Council decided to stop terminal disinfection of rooms
and bedding " except in cases of smallpox or where the Medical Officer of Health considers such disinfection
to be advisable." During the year 11 rooms were disinfected and 3 lots of bedding destroyed.
Laboratory.—Certain routine bacteriological work is done in the laboratory at the Health Department.
When more detailed investigation is required specimens are sent to the National Public Health
Laboratory Service. The number of specimens examined during 1952 was 504. The majority of these
specimens were taken during the investigation of paratyphoid fever, dysentery and food poisoning.
Food Poisoning.—Section 17 (1) of the Food and Drugs Act, 1938, states: " If a registered medical
practitioner becomes aware, or suspects, that a patient whom he is attending within the district of any local
authority is suffering from food poisoning, he shall forthwith send to the medical officer of health of that
district a certificate stating:—
(а) the name, age and sex of the patient, and the address of the premises where the patient is; and
(b) particulars of the food poisoning from which he is, or is suspected to be, suffering."
Experience suggests that all medical practitioners do not recall this statutory obligation to notify
actual or suspected cases of food poisoning and certainly the importance of notification " forthwith " is
not realised. If the Health Department is to have a real chance of tracing the origin and source of food
poisoning they should be on the job as soon as food poisoning is suspected. Delay in notification so hampered
the investigation of cases that the attention of some medical practitioners had to be drawn to their
statutory obligations.
The possibility of food poisoning should be kept in mind in all cases of " gastric flu " and unexplained
vomiting and diarrhoea. During 1952 notifications of the occurrence of food poisoning in 53
persons were received and during the course of our investigations a further 7 cases were discovered. There
was no large outbreak and the cases were distributed as follows:—4 cases in each of 4 households, 3 cases
in each of 2 households, 2 cases in each of 3 households and the remaining 32 were single cases. A considerable
amount of time and effort was devoted to investigation of these incidents. The responsible
organism was identified in 4 incidents but the source of infection was not traced with certainty in any case,
some detail of the cases is set out in tabular form overleaf. No death from food poisoning occurred.
According to the Ministry of Food the average number of meals and hot beverages served per week,
based on a 16 week survey in 1952, in catering establishments in the United Kingdom was hot beverages,
315,000,000; main meals, 78,600,000; breakfasts, 12,600,000; and light meals, 141,100,000. These
figures indicate the ever present danger from carelessness or accident in the personal hygiene of food
handlers and in the storage, cooking and serving of food. In general the catering trade is alive to their
responsibilities in this matter but there is still considerable room for improvement by individual concerns
and by persons engaged in the trade. During the year the Sanitary Inspectors have continued their
efforts to educate food handlers and traders not only in the letter but the spirit of the Food and Drugs
Act nand the bvelaws associated therewith.
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