London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Camberwell 1922
Report of the Medical Officer of Health for the year 1922
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Consultant to the London County Council, whose services have been
of considerable help in the diagnosis of this disease, can also be called
upon if required.
Diphtheria.—B2l cases were notified, as compared with 875 in
1921, of these 785 were admitted to the Isolation Hospitals, 4 of
the cases were afterwards reported as not suffering from the disease.
63 deaths were registered.
The following table sets out the corresponding figures for the years 1920 to 1922:—
| Year. | Cases Notified. | Removed to Hospital. | Deaths. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 937 | 839 | 62 |
| 1921 | 875 | 829 | 64 |
| 1922 | 821 | 785 | 63 |
Carrier Cases.—It is a recognised fact that a certain proportion
of the community have the Klebs-Loeffler bacillus present in their
nose or throat and never develop the clinical signs and symptoms
which constitute the disease diphtheria These carrier cases, nevertheless,
may, and in certain instances do, transmit this disease to
their neighbours. They present a very difficult problem to the
Health Department. It is essentially necessary to have them treated,
and it is possible to isolate a certain number at home, but there are
instances where it is necessary to remove them to hospital owing
to the danger of other children becoming infected. The modern
work in connection with diphtheria leads to hope that by treatment
with toxin antitoxin mixtures it will be possible to render the
whole population immune.
Scarlet Fever. —1,083 cases were notified in 1922 as suffering from
scarlet fever. Of these 4 cases were afterwards reported as not
suffering from this disease. The number of deaths from scarlet
fever for the year was 22.
In the following table is set out the corresponding figures for 1919 to 1922:—
| Year. | Number of Notifications. | Number of Deaths. | Death rate per 1,000 population. | Case Mortality I per cent. | Percentage of cases removed to Hospital. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | 700 | 12 | 0.04 | 1.7 | – |
| 1920 | 1,308 | 13 | 0.04 | 0.9 | 81.1 |
| 1921 | 1.959 | 19 | 0.07 | 0.9 | 89.4 |
| 1922 | 1,083 | 22 | 0.08 | 2.0 | 82.2 |
Scarlet fever shows a decrease in numbers notified as compared
with last year. Fortunately the mortality has not been high, and
it has been noticeable that the complications of this disease, which
seriously affect the health in after years, are not so frequent as in
the past. Owing to the mild character of the disease, cases were more