§ Mr. Viantasked the Minister of Health how many cases of smallpox were notified, and in how many of these was diagnosis confirmed in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946 and to the present date of 1947.
§ Mr. BevanIt is not possible to give figures on a comparable basis for each of the years mentioned. This is partly because a change in the, manner of keeping departmental records of smallpox was made in 1946, and partly because it is difficult to relate the number of confirmed cases to the number of cases formally notified to the Registrar-General.
Year. England and Wales Scotland Northern Ireland United Kingdom Total. 1933 … … 25,408 5,904 1,237 32,609 1938 … … 26,379 5,449 1,150 32,978 1943 … … 43,216 7,173 1,728 52,117 1945 … … 64,064 7,454 1,569 73,087 1946 … … 54,904 6,904 1,319 63,127 (provisional) (provisional)