[Report 1937] / Medical Officer of Health, Canterbury Borough / City & County.

  • Canterbury (England). City & County Council.
Date:
1937
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1937] / Medical Officer of Health, Canterbury Borough / City & County. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    later life. There is also a well-equipped Ophthalmic Depart- ment at the local Voluntary Hospital, so that members of the general public should have no difficulty in obtaining any necessary treatment for eye complaints. Prevalence of, and Control Over, Infectious and Other Diseases. The district has been singularly free from the common infectious diseases during the year. Under the Notification of Disease Act, 6i cases (exclusive of Tuberculosis) were notified by Medical Practitioners as against 67 in 1936. It is a matter of common knowledge that many diseases, such as Plague, Leprosy and Typhus Fever, once so common in mediaeval times, are now known no more in this country. Other diseases such as Smallpox (abolished from German}* due to compulsory Vaccination and re-Vaccination) and Diphtheria are still far too prevalent, although means for their control are now in the hands of the medical profession, but unfortunately have not as yet been made compulsory. All cases of Scarlet Fever and Diphtheria were visited by the Medical Officer of Health or the Sanitary Inspector as soon as notified in order to ensure that all proper precautions were being taken to prevent the spread of infection. Disinfection of bedding, etc., is carried out at the Nunner}'^ Fields Institution, and there is provision for the cleansing of verminous persons at the School Clinic, and was made use on 6 occasions during the year. Smallpox.—Although no case has been notified in Canterbury for several years, the danger is alwa}'^s imminent and always serious, not so much, perhaps, to the health of the individual, as the type of the disease now prevalent is very mild, but owing to the crippling effect the isolation of a large number of cases would have on the financial resources of the area. VACCINATION AND RE-VACCINATION. Mr. Rose, the Vaccination Officer, reports that the final figures for 1936 are as follows: — Births Rkgisterkd—450. Successful Vaccinations ... ... ... 162 Insusceptible ... ... ... ... ... 2 Exemptions ... 243 Died Unvaccinated ... ... ... ... 15 Post])onement by INIedical Certificate ... 2 Removed to other districts, untraced, etc... 26 450