[Report 1949] / Medical Officer of Health, St Ives (Cornwall) Borough.

  • St. Ives (Cornwall, England). Borough Council.
Date:
1949
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1949] / Medical Officer of Health, St Ives (Cornwall) Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    med'iqihe should not be stultified by, insufficient consideration of 'the consequehces of their neglect. It will be remembered that in September a booklet on the Selection of Tenants was published under the aegis, of the Ministry of Health. ' This pointed the way clearly to the need for a revision of the Points Scheme but I have ye‘t to learn that this hus eveh been proposed. The booklet suggested the division of points into (a) basic and (b) balancing, and this seems sound. It is hoped that a revised scheme will at leR.st be considered by the'Council at a very early date. (c) Housing of Old People. If the present trend of population continues, by 1970 more than 17 per cent of the people in the Borough will be aged 65 or over. This is a'very serious matter and though, of course, all its implications require considera¬ tion the question of the housing of old people is a matter requiring very careful study. Their 'wants may be few but planning the accommodation they will require is a different proposition altogether. Single storeyed buildings are re¬ latively wasteful in space, old people need relatively flat land for their peregrina.tions, and they require looking after- in a friendly and nelpful vnay in order tj ensure that they get an adequate diet, and further, do not allow their houses to deteriorate markedly in cleanliness as so many are inclined to do. All this constitutes a first class social problem but suitable housing would at least do something to nelp. 4. INFECTIOUS BISHASH. (a) Tnrougnout the winter and spring we were happily almost free from infectious disease and even in the summer when other areas were being afflicted v/ith poliomyelitis only three cases occurred. One more was suspected but not confirmed. Two cases were in local residents. In view of the enormous turnover in visitors wnich takes place each summer this is an interesting fact as it must be assumed that some carriers came into the town. (b) However, there wa.s also a subste.ntial amount of some intestinal disorder, which was chiefly mo.nifest as diarrhoea, with some vomiting. It a,ffected residents anl visitors alike, and was not related to any article of food or drink as far as we could ascertain, and though nuinerous samples of faeces were sent for bacteriological examination no pathogenic organism ■was isolated at any time. This is rather a remarkable occurrence which it is felt should be recorded as I have not seen similar accounts elsewhere. I understenid, however, that other cases did occur in other parts of the county and that a similar train of events took pl?<.ce during the war in about 1941 or 1942, again in the course of a very hot dry summer. It is an interesting thing th-^t as soon as a reasonable amount of rain fell it disappeared and I have had a suggestion from a very responsible medical source that it might be due to a virus. These arc germs much more minute than ordinary bacteria and about which we know very little especially whether in fact they have anything to io. with any similar intestinal disorder. (c) Eiphthe.ria Immunisation. I have mentioned in the two previous reports that the response to the diphtheria immunisa¬ tion campaign was very disappointing, worse indeed than in any .. 3 _