[Report 1942] / School Medical Officer of Health, Bury County Borough.

  • Bury (Greater Manchester, England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1942
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1942] / School Medical Officer of Health, Bury County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    number of deaths from this disease during the last twenty-five years was h'2. Deaths from cancer now regularly follow deaths from heart disease, which year after year is at the top of the list in killing diseases, cancer l,)eing second. I'orty years ago the average annual numljer of deaths from cancer was 10. .\s diagnostic methods have improved since then, and the po]>ulation over the age of fifty years, which c.ancer affects mostly has now increased, no doubt these two factors have some bearing on the increased number of cancer cases found to-day. INI-ECTIOUS DISEASES. During the year under review 77 cases of scarlet fever were notified to the Public Health Dejuirtment. 51 of the cases were sent to hospital. More than one-half of the cases recorded were between the ages of 5 years and 0 years, and the disease in the main was of the mild ty])e. I'ifly-three cases of diphtheria were notified during the year, and all but two were admitted for hospital treatment. One case died. The fatal case had not been immunised against the disease. Diphtheria is a disease which chiefly attacks those between' the ages of 5 years and 15 years, and up to the end of l'.IT2, 3,256 Bury school children have been immunised against the disease. The number of children immunised under the age of five years was 1,199 at the end of 1912. This is about twofifths of the children between 1 year and 5 years. I'ifteen cases of diphtheria were notified in 1912 as occurring in the age group under five years. Since immunisation is simple, safe and free and gives almost certain protection against death from diphtheria, mothers should avail themselves of the oi)portunity in having their children protected. All children between 1 and 5 years should be immunised. The l.>est time is soon after the first birthday. Even the l.Kist cared-for child may get diphtheria. It is not due to dirt or drains; The disease attacks most strongly from October to March, and it is particularly fatal to children under five. If three out of every four children between the ages of one and fifteen years were immunised, the disease would be practically wiped out. Our exjierience in Bury has jwoved the efficacy of immunisation. Before immunisation was introduced in this town there were in some years over 2UU cases, and over thirty deaths from this disease. By the end of 1939 over one-tenth (759) of the >ch(K)l po])ulation of this Borough had been immunised. Fifty-six cases of diphtheria in school children were, notified in that year, and there were two deaths, both in children of school age who were not immunised. W'hen the number (2,613) of school children immunised had reached in 1941 over one-third of the school ])o}tulation it was then felt that, with a campaign amongst mothers urging them to have their children under five immunised, the elimination of diphtheria wouUl begin if nearh’ all mothers accepted. Unfortunately this was not the case, since three- fifths of the under fives had not been immunised at the end of the year under review. In 1941 there were fifteen children between the ages of 5 years and 15 years who contracted diphtheria. Fortunately there were no deaths. It is impossible to tell how man_\- ill effects, which may last a lifetime, and which could be avoided by immunisation, have been left in the cases which suffered from the disease. The moral is plain. Mothers nho desire to protect their children against such a deadly disease should do soon after the child’s first birthday. Of the other infectious diseases notified in the Borough in 1942, there were 75 cases ol pneumonia, with 35 deaths from this cause, as against 137 ca.ses in 1941 with 40 deaths, and 139 cases in P)4u with 56 deaths. There was an epidemic of measles ii 1943, no less than 672 cases were notified. There were no deaths frt m this disease. 'I'he e])idemic of wh(X)]>ing cough in 1941, when there were 6(X) ^lotifications, was not repeated in 1912, when only ten notifications were received. No deaths (Kcurred from whooj^ing cough in 1942. One death was due to puerperal jwrexia out of seven notified cases, and this was the only fatal case from infectious disease apart from the one diphtheria death in the whole year. o-