[Report 1954] / Medical Officer of Health, Cheltenham Borough.

  • Cheltenham (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1954
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1954] / Medical Officer of Health, Cheltenham Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    This increase reflects what is happening throughout the country. The Chief Medical Officer to the Ministry of Health stated in his report for 1953 that there were 5,277 sporadic cases and outbreaks, representing an increase of 50% over 1952. This increase in known cases may have been due to increased vigilance by the Local Authority’s food inspectors but the fact remains that in spite of all our efforts there has been no appreciable reduction in the number of cases of food poisoning. It must also be remembered that statistics only show the number of cases notified. There are many others which never come to light. Inspection of the preparation and sale of food for human consumption is one of the most important functions of a Health Department and is carried out diligently by our District Sanitary Inspectors. This is a matter which is also exercising the minds of the Ministry of Health but one can only express disappointment that the new Food and Drugs Amendment Act of 1954 does not go far enough. It is not the practice of Local Authorities to clamour for additional legislation to meet new difficulties but it is hard to visualise how standards of food hygiene can be improved by persuasion alone without the backing of the necessary regulations. However, the public could play a much larger part in the clean food campaign by refusing to accept inferior standards. TUBERCULOSIS New Cases and Mortality during 1954. Age Periods New Cases Deaths Pulmonary Non- Pulmonary Pulmonary Non- Pulmonary M F M F M F M F Under 1 year 1 — — — — — — — 1-5 years ^ 1 ^ 2 1 1 1 — — — — — O-ID ,, 15-25 „ 1 5 4 1 1 1 25-35 „ 5 11 1 1 1 — 1 — 35-45 „ 6 2 — — 1 2 — — 45-55 „ 4 3 — — — — — — 55-65 „ 5 — — — 2 1 — — 65 and upwards 1 2 — 1 — — — — TOTALS ... 30 23 2 2 4 4 1 1 Death Rates The Tuberculosis death rates for Cheltenham during 1954 were as follows :— Pulmonary Tuberculosis 0.119 Non Pulmonary Tuberculosis 0.029 Per 1,000 Total 0.148 r of Population Comparative \Great Towns average Total 0.201 Figures /England and Wales Total 0.179