View report page

6
Opthalmia Neonatorum.—6 cases came under notice.
2 were under care of Health Visitors, 2 at Infirmary, and 2 were
taken out of town. All cases under treatment in town did well.
Erysipelas.—10 cases, all due to climatic influences, were
reported. 1 death occurred.
Puerperal Fever—1 case was reported, and died.
Malaria.—4 cases, all from abroad. These men were placed
under hospital treatment in London.
Tuberculosis—64 cases. Pulmonary cases numbered 52;
the remaining 12 were affected in various other organs. 50 deaths.
In January the Borough had recovered from the epidemic of
Dysentery of the last quarter of 1918. Influenza had also
dwindled very much, and by April had disappeared.
The cold damp days, and raw climatic conditions would
account largely for the Influenza, and, in my opinion, for much
of the Diphtheria at all periods, provided any other such cases
were scattered in our midst. The influence of Cinema Shows,
Theatres, and crowded tram cars and over-crowded houses must be
borne in mind in this direction. Means of travel too are now so
easy that communication of disease from individual to individual
is not difficult.
I did not find that schools were a cause of the spread of
disease. Care and caution are fully exercised in these institutions.
There was no case of Dysentery, Trench Fever, Anthrax. Rabies or
Small Pox.
Antitoxin was issued through my office to Medical
Practitioners for use in Diphtheria cases, and from reports I
gather that prevention of the disease among contacts, and
mitigated symptons in those attacked, were attributable to the
early use of Antitoxin.