[Report 1966] / Medical Officer of Health, Brentwood U.D.C.

  • Brentwood (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1966
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1966] / Medical Officer of Health, Brentwood U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    12/32 (page 10)
    Pneumonia; There ^ere ten cases notified during the year; most of the cases were in the older age groups from 25-74 years. Puerperal Pyrexia: There were four cases notified during the year. This is a condition brought about my many causes. Any women with a rise in temperature of more than t\\o degrees above normal temperature during the puerperal period immediately after the birth of her child is considered to be a case jf 1 uereral fever. Owing to the iutioduction of modern antibiotics, this one fatal disease has now been brought under control. T uberculosis: There were eleven causes of pulmonary liiberculosis notified during the year, 'there were no cases of non-))ulmonary tuberculosis. Prevention of tuberculosis is carried out by the Brentwood Chest Clinic in conjunction with the Health Visitors of the F>sex County Council, (^ontacts are followed up over a considerable period of time so as to exclude the presence of tuberculosis. The School Health Department of the Essex County Council offers ail susceptible school leavers the protection of B.C.G. vaccination. During the year 753 children were tested and 74 children were found to be positive and referred to the Chest Clinic for X-ray and further investigation. 081) school leavers were given B.C.G. vaccine. Infective Hepatitis: There w’ere five cases notified during the year. This disease is thought to bo a virus infection and transmitted in the same way as other alimentary fli.seases, thus similar precautions have to be taken as for dysentery and food poisoning. All cases and their close contacts who are food handlers are, therefore, excluded from work during the infectious period. Dysentery: There -was no epidemic of dysentery during the year. Eleven sporadic cases were notified throughout the district, and all the cases were due to infection with' Shigella sonnei. This is usually a fairly mild form of dysen- tery, but it can be serious in the very young, the old and the debilitated. For this reason all cases are carefully followed-up. Family and other close contacts are checked out and all food handlers excluded from work during the period of infectivity. This represents (luite a heavy work load for the Public Health Deiiartment, but it is well worth the effort in preventing an epidemic of the disease. Food Poisoning: Two general outbreaks were reported; the first occurred at an office canteen in the district, eight peo])le were affected in all and the offending item of food was narrowed down to some sliced tinned tongue. The onset of .symptoms, which were diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pains took I)lace .some four to eight hours after the meal. Stool specimens were taken from all affected i»ersons and these ])roved negative. The offending sample of tongue wa.s sent for analysis but was not proved ])0sitive. The number of peo))le involved, the nature of the illne.ss and its onset imiicated very strongly that the outbreak 'was due to staphylococcal p<»isoning probably transmitietl in the sliced tongue. The kitchens and serving arrangements of this canteen w'cre found to be beyonrl reproach and it is j)robablc that the infection was not trans- mitted by faulty management in the kitchen or in the preparation of the food.