View report page

Ophthalmia Neonatorum.—For the first time since the disease was made notifiable, no case
was reported in the Borough. It is a tribute to preventive medicine that this infection of the eyes of babies
which was once a common cause of blindness has now been brought under control. It is unlikely that
the disease will disappear completely, but when it does occur, modern treatment should prevent any
damage to sight.
Puerperal Pyrexia.—During the year, 33 cases were notified as compared with 67 cases in 1953,
A change in the definition of puerperal pyrexia was introduced by the Puerperal Pyrexia Regulations
1951. No woman died from puerperal or post-abortion sepsis.
Measles.—Only 38 cases were notified during 'the year, but if the disease follows its usual
rhythm, many more cases will occur in 1955. No death from measles was recorded.
Whooping Cough.—The; notifications of whooping cough, 35, were less than in 1953.
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, 515 children under the age of one year received inoculations against
whooping cough during the year.
Malaria.—Two cases of malaria were notified during the year and investigations showed that
they were recurrences of infections originally contracted in Korea and West Africa.
Influenza.—This disease was not prevalent during the year. It caused 2 deaths as compared
with 26 in 1953, 4 in 1952, 33 in 1951 and 6 in 1950.
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, 372; chicken pox, 369; and German measles, 14. 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, 79 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, four rooms were disinfected and 11
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 1954 was 305. The majority
of these specimens were taken during the investigation of 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 :—
(a) 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.
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
continues to hamper the investigation of cases.
The possibility of food poisoning should be kept in mind in all cases of "gastric flu" and unexplained
vomiting and diarrhoea. During 1954, notifications of the occurence of food poisoning m
48 persons were received, and during the course of our investigations and from other sources, a further
25 cases were discovered. A considerable amount of time and effort was devoted to investigation o
these incidents, and a summary of the findings is given below :—
Cases of Food Poisoning.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Ouarter Ouarter Quarter Ouarter To'al
5 (2) 22 (20) '12 (9) 34 (17) 73 (48)
Outbreaks due to identified agents
Total outbreaks Total cases
3 (2) 9 (5)
Outbreaks of undiscovered cause
Total outbreaks Total cases
5 (4) 50 (29)
Single cases
Agent identified unknown cause Total cases
1 (1) 13 (13) 14 (14)
( ) = notified under Section 17 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1938.
12