London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Battersea 1904

Report on the health of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea for the year 1904

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hospital, and 4 at home, the case-mortality at hospital and at
home being- 6.4 and 9. 1 respectively.

The following table gives the age distribution of the cases notified, and of the fatal cases:—

Age Periods—Years.Total.
Under 11-22-33-44-55-1010-1515-2525-65
Cases6812192879191315199
Deaths31122514

The total number of houses invaded by diphtheria was
156. In 30 houses the drainage was defective, and in 105
insanitary conditions other than drainage defects were found.
In 20 cases a history of direct personal infection was
obtained. In addition to these, 7 cases imported the disease
from other districts, and 2 cases were possibly return cases.
Thirty-five cases notified as suffering from diphtheria and
removed to hospital were found not to be so suffering, and
were returned home.
On 31st October I was informed by the medical officer of
one of the boarding schools in the district that he had found
three cases of diphtheria amongst the scholars. I immediately
accompanied him to the school, and specimens for
bacteriological examination were taken from the throats of
all the scholars and the members of the teaching staff. The
Klebs-Loeffler bacillus was found to be present in two cases,
in one of whom no clinical symptoms could be found. Two
subsequent cases occurred, the last case being notified on
6th November. The total number of cases was 7.
One patient, a girl aged eighteen months, had diphtheria
twice during the year, the first attack beginning on 12th May,
the second on 7th July. On both occasions the patient was
removed to hospital. I was informed that the patient had had
a previous attack on 21st February, when living at Tooting.
Two hundred and forty-four bacteriological examinations
were made, 39 of which gave a positive and 205 a negative
result.