London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Finsbury 1950
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Finsbury Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
41
Incidence Rates.
The rates per thousand of the population are set out below,
together with the corresponding rates for England and Wales, the
larger towns, the smaller towns, and London as a whole for
comparison:—
(Notification Rates (Comparative Table) per 1,000 population.)
| Finsbury | England and Wales | 126 C.B's. and great towns including London | 148 smaller towns, Res. population 25,000 to 50,000 at 1931 census | London Adm. County | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typhoid Fever | 0.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| Paratyphoid Fever | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Meningococcal infection | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| Scarlet Fever | 1.34 | 1.50 | 1.56 | 1.61 | 1.23 |
| Whooping Cough | 5.25 | 3.60 | 3.97 | 3.15 | 3.21 |
| Diphtheria | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| Erysipelas | 0.22 | 0.17 | 0.19 | 0.16 | 0.17 |
| Smallpox | — | 0.00 | 0.00 | — | — |
| Measles | 8.32 | 8.39 | 8.76 | 8.36 | 6.57 |
| Pneumonia | 1.20 | 0.70 | 0.77 | 0.61 | 0.50 |
| Acute poliomyelitis (including polioencephalitis)— | |||||
| Paralytic | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.12 | 0.11 | 0.08 |
| Non-paralytic | — | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.06 | 0.05 |
| Food Poisoning | 0.14 | 0.17 | 0.16 | 0.14 | 0.25 |
Diphtheria.
Again it may be recorded that there has been no true case of
Diphtheria arising in the Borough.
One case (a man of 62) who had already been under treatment in
Bethnal Green Hospital for Bronchitis for 18 days developed the
disease, but it is most unlikely that he was already suffering from
Diphtheria when admitted.
In February information was received that a female aged 22,
employed by a firm in the Borough but resident elsewhere, had been
admitted to hospital with Diphtheria and the diagnosis confirmed.
Swabs were taken of all employees who had been in contact with the
patient, and also of the maintenance staff. In one instance only was
a positive result obtained (a nasal swab) and the persons was excluded
from work until three negative results had been obtained. No other
case of diphtheria occurred on the premises.