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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, diptherra, roembrapous 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, 1,225 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 1964.
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, 733 children under the age of two years were
vaccinated in 1964. Modern travel is such that the risk of importing smallpox
is ever present.
SCARLET FEVER. This disease was more prevalent - 52 cases notified as
compared with 13 in the previous year. This disease continued to be mild in
character.
DIPHTHERIA. The Borough's freedom from diptheria was maintained during
the year. The number of children under the age of one year who were immunised
during 1964 was 450 as compared with 469 in 1963.
ERYSIPELAS. Nine notifications of this disease were received and one
patient died.
PNEUMONIA. Notifications of pneumonia were 11 as compared with 18 in
1963. Of the total pneumonia deaths, 80 per cent occurred at age 65 and over.
MENINGOCOCCAL INFECTION. One case was notified during the year.
ACUTE ENCEPHALITIS. Three notifications were received during the year.
POLIOMYELITIS. No case was notified during the year.
Inoculation against poliomyelitis was continued during the year. Three
doses of oral vaccine were given to 1,365 persons, one dose following two
injections to 6 persons, 2 injections to 34 persons and third injection to 31
persons.
TYPHOID FEVER. No case of typhoid fever was notified during the year.
PARATYPHOID FEVER. One notification was received during the year and the
infection appeared to have been contracted ahfoad.
DYSENTERY. This disease shows great variations in prevalence from year
to year and from place to place. During the year 9 cases were notified.
The infection in all cases was of the Sonne type and the illness was
mild in practically every case. The mildness of the illness is such that medical
advice is not always sought, and unless the disease is kept constantly in mind,
cases are likely to be missed.
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