Annual report of the Department of Public Health and the Central Board of Health / South Australia.

  • South Australia. Department of Public Health.
Date:
[1963]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Department of Public Health and the Central Board of Health / South Australia. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Diphtheria—Diphtheria was not notified during 1963. This is the first year since 1899, when diphtheria was proclaimed a notifiable infectious disease, that no notifications of its occurrence were received. The highest number of notifications in any year was during 1921 when 2,744 notifications were received. Other diseases—No significant alterations occurred in the incidence of other diseases. Immunization—Routine immunization was continued during the year by officers of the Branch, in areas outside local government control, and by local boards of health within their own territories. By means of circulars, newsletters, pamphlets and personal advice, emphasis was again placed on the need for vaccination against smallpox. Medical Examinations—During the year 49 wards of the Commonwealth, now living in South Australia, and who were previously contacts of persons with tropical infectious diseases in the Northern Territory, were given routine medical examinations to detect the presence of any disease. No tropical diseases were found among them. (e) CONTROL OF VENEREAL DISEASE During 1963, £2,321 (£2,436) was spent by the Department of Public Health on venereal disease investigation and treatment. The majority of this amount was paid to the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science for bacteriological and serological tests done for private practitioners. A total of 90 (58) patients were investigated at the Department’s Venereal Diseases Investigation Clinic at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Gram positive cocci resembling gonococci were seen in smears from 25 (7) of these patients and serum from 6 (3) gave positive gonococcal complement fixation tests. One patient gave a positive serological test for syphilis. Contacts of a number of patients being treated by private practitioners for venereal diseases were investigated. The figures in parentheses refer to the year 1962. (/) SUPERVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION Routine Inspection—Officers of the Public Health Supervision Branch of the Department are responsible to the Central Board of Health for ensuring that provisions of the Health Act designed to maintain a proper sanitary condition within the State are carried out and also that the requirements of the Food and Drugs Act are implemented. The Central Board of Health and its officers act in a supervisory and advisory capacity to local boards of health and their officers. During 1963, it has again been necessary to concentrate on assistance to local boards in matters of special difficulty or importance, with the result that routine inspections were carried out in only four local board areas, including one metropolitan local board. During casual visits to other local board areas it was noted that standards of sanitation had deteriorated since routine inspections had ceased. Routine inspections in local board areas serve a useful purpose in that local board officers can be advised and guided on health matters in their respective areas, and their work co-ordinated throughout the State. Land Subdivisions—During the year, the Town Planner submitted for advice a further 13 areas for subdivision into building allotments. Reports were prepared on existing conditions or conditions likely to develop relative to the satisfactory disposal of refuse and liquid wastes. It was necessary to report that the areas of some proposed allotments were not considered large enough for the continuous disposal of domestic waste waters. Larger allotments were recommended in these instances. Air Pollution—Collection of deposited material from 50 sampling points in the Adelaide metropolitan area has continued during the year. In practice overseas, the most useful information from such surveys has been drawn from monthly readings, extending over a period of five years, though significant changes have sometimes been detected within a few months. The third year of the survey has now been completed and results so far obtained indicate the need for further investigation. Individual complaints of factories and private premises causing air pollution problems have also been investigated and action taken to prevent further cause for complaint. On a number of occasions during May a temperature inversion layer developed over Adelaide due to climatic conditions. Contaminants being discharged into the atmosphere over the city were trapped with little or no vertical dispersion. This phenomena has been associated with air pollution problems elsewhere and it is important to know that it can occur in Adelaide. These phenomena remained for a period of about 6-7 hours and during that time on one occasion atmospheric sampling was carried on for a period of four hours. The analysis revealed the presence of sulphur dioxide in quantities of less than 0.01 parts per million of air (V/V). Private Hospitals and Rest Homes—Routine inspections of private hospitals and rest homes have been continued throughout the year in the metropolitan area and part of the country. Special investigations have sometimes necessitated more frequent visits. A special survey on sterile water supplies at hospitals, which was commenced in 1962, was continued during the year. Final conclusions have not yet been reached. Fly Survey—The fly survey, commenced in the Adelaide metropolitan area in 1961 and continued in 1962, was further continued throughout 1963. The highest levels of infestation occur in early and late summer, as the very cold and very hot dry weather conditions are not conducive to flies breeding.