[Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, Todmorden Borough.

  • Todmorden (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1955
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, Todmorden Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    10/44 (page 8)
    wife. There is no longer any need for the expectant mother to be haunted by fear or depressed by oldwives’ tales. One early result of this extension of the work of the local Ante-natal Clinic has been a marked increase in the popularity of the Clinic. During the past three or four months, attend¬ ances have increased by over 50%, in marked contrast to most other local authority ante-natal clinics where (through¬ out the country) attendances have declined since the inception of the National Health Service. There was no exceptional incidence of serious infectious disease during the year under review though the number of cases of measles notified was higher than usual. The control of measles is difficult, the patient being in a very infectious condition for a day or two before the rash appears and before a diagnosis can be made. Nor is there any practicable means of conferring long-term immunity by innoculation. The modem anti-biotic and sulphonamide groups of drugs are useful in both preventing and treating some of the complications of the disease but are not effective against measles itself. The outlook would appear to be more hopeful in relation to whooping cough, only 12 cases being notified during the year. When one recalls that whooping cough has been a promi¬ nent cause of death in infancy and is, moreover, the origin of much chronic chest trouble in adults, the decline of the disease is very welcome. This improvement is in part attri¬ butable to immunisation. Under the County Council scheme, children up to the age of four years can be immunised against whooping cough either at the local clinic or by the family doctor. In conclusion, Tadies and Gentlemen, may I thank you for your kindness, patience and co-operation? I also wish to express my deep appreciation of the consistently loyal and energetic work of the staff of this Department. I am, Yours faithfully, J. UYONS, M.B., CH.B., M.R.C.S., R.R.C.P., D.P.H., Medical Officer of Health.