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INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Notification to the Medical Officer of Health is the essential preliminary to
control of infectious disease. The diseases required by statute to be notified are
smallpox, cholera, diphtheria, membranous croup, erysipelas, scarlet fever, typhus
fever, typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, relapsing fever, plague, poliomyelitis,
tuberculosis malaria, dysentery, puerperal pyrexia, ophthalmia neonatorum, acute
primary pneumonia, acute influenzal pneumonia, whooping cough, measles, acute encephalitis,
meningococcal infection anthrax and food poisoning. It is known that all
cases are not notified but there are no grounds for suspecting that the level of
notification varies to any great extent from year to year Persons travelling overseas
may be required to produce evidence of recent vaccination against smallpox or
inoculation against yellow fever cholera and typhoid fever Such certificates require
to be endorsed by the Medical Officer of Health, and during the year 707 were so
endorsed,
INCIDENCE OF NOTIFIABLE DISEASE The number of cases notified during the year
is shown in Table VI and the trend of infectious diseases during the last 20 years in
Table VII
SMALLPOX No case of smallpox occurred in the Borough during 1961. Persons
arriving in the Borough from parts of the world where smallpox is prevalent, are kept
under observation till any chance of their developing the disease is over.
According to the returns 794 children under the age of one year were vaccinated
in 1961 as compared with 734 in 1960 Modern travel is such that the risk of importing
smallpox is ever present
SCARLET FEVER This disease was less prevalent - 29 cases notified as compared
with 70 in the previous year This disease continued to be mild in character.
DIPHTHERIA The Borough"s freedom from diphtheria was maintained during the
year. The number of children under the age of one year who were immunised during 1961
was 482 as compared with 1,021 in 1960
ERYSIPELAS No notification of this disease was received.
PNEUMONIA Notifications of pneumonia were 17 as compared with 18 in 1960. Of
the total pneumonia deaths 65 per cent occurred at age 65 and over.
MENINGOCOCCAL INFECTION Two cases were notified during the year.
ACUTE ENCEPHALITIS. One notification was received and the patient made a good
recovery Encephalitis is known to occur as a complication of other infectious diseases,
and three such cases were notified during 1961
POLIOMYELITIS One case occurred during the year
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