[Report 1962] / Medical Officer of Health, Brixham U.D.C.

  • Brixham (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1962
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1962] / Medical Officer of Health, Brixham U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    6/28 (page 4)
    Bxixham and as he was a possible contact of an Asian boy who contracted smallpox, he was kept binder surveillance during the whole of his stay in Brixhamo Lilkewise in October tlriree passengers off the S«So ’’Orion” who may have beenr in contact with a case of smallpox aboard ship were placed under surveillance during their stay in Br:i.xhafno Contacts of Typhoid Fever Two persons were typhoid fever contacts<> One was a member of the crew of the RoM»M*Vo ’’Stirling Castle” and the other was a student who had been in Spain with colleagues who contracted the disease<> The former was given a prophylactic injection by his local doctor9 and the latter returned to London where the MoOoHo concerned took any necesscory actiono Anthrax In January, three Racoons were reported to have died of anthrax at Paignton Zoo a Meat which had been fed to the animals was thought at one times to have conveyed the infectiono Purely as a precaution five employees of a firm at Bril who my have hsuidled the suspected meat were offered prophylactic treatment through the agency of their owjl family doctorso No human cases of ainthrax occuu Notification of Infectious Illness Only two cases of infectious illness9 namely Tuberculosis of the Lungs, we:“ notified in Brixham during 1962, in accordance with Section of the Public j Health Act9 193^0 On the face of it Brixham would appear to be an '^Oasis of j purity” when compared with other areaso The purpose of notification is to make it possible for those concerned to take measures to track down eliminate sources of infection9 but in actual practice if no information is received^ no follow-up can take place® However P*jblic Health liason with the majority of general medical practitioners is sucbJ that if something really serrous occurred9 for example Food Poisoning or Acute j Poliomyelitis and Tuberculosisg then if the doctor is perhaps too busy to mke j a written notification in accordance with the Act9 he at least telephones to ttj MoOoHo Although this latter method may not be officj^al it is practicalg is ] often simpler for the doctor and the MoOoHo is informed much quicker (especiallJ important in cases of Food Poisoning)o For every written notification concemil a case in the doctor®s domiciliary practice9 the Health Authority pays a fee oil half-a°crowno No such payment is authorised for a telephonic notification® ] Tne School Health Servic® informally notified 37 cases of Chicken Pox andJl 12 cases of German Measles® Torbay Hospital ^exe admitted the following casMi from Brixham8- Gastro-Enleritis 29 Dysentery I9 Glandular Fever I9 and ; Infective Hepatitis 1® | 1 <» tsu