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
Islington 1960
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
Diphtheria
Cases and Deaths - 1927 - 1960
| Year | Notified Cases | Deaths | Year | Notified Cases | Confirmed Cases | Deaths | Year | Notified Cases | Confirmed Cases | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 720 | 25 | 1938 | 595 | Not available | 23 | 1949 | 55 | 17 | 2 |
| 1928 | 760 | 25 | 1939 | 254 | 10 | 1950 | 50 | 19 | 1 | |
| 1929 | 1008 | 34 | 1940 | 101 | 2 | 1951 | 43 | 17 | 1 | |
| 1930 | 1248 | 42 | 1941 | 174 | 11 | 1952 | 23 | - | - | |
| 1931 | 714 | 15 | 1942 | 201 | 2 | 1953 | 12 | 1 | - | |
| 1932 | 601 | 20 | 1943 | 188 | 9 | 1954 | 6 | 1 | - | |
| 1933 | 551 | 33 | 1944 | 94 | 38 | 2 | 1955 | 9 | 1 | - |
| 1934 | 815 | 32 | 1945 | 86 | 45 | 3 | 1956 | 8 | 2 | - |
| 1935 | 760 | 13 | 1946 | 137 | 50 | - | 1957 | 9 | 1 | " |
| 1936 | 583 | 31 | 1947 | 72 | 19 | 1 | 1958 | 6 | 2 | - |
| 1937 | 623 | 20 | 1948 | 44 | 7 | - | 1959 | 48 | 9 | " |
| 1960 | 4 | - | . " |
| Year | England and Wales | London | Islington |
|---|---|---|---|
| 801 | |||
| - | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| 1 | |||
| "" |
It will be seen from the tables that whilst four cases were notified as diphtheria,
none was confirmed 1960 was therefore the second year (the other 1952), in which there
was not a single confirmed case of diphtheria. This is certainly not an indication that
immunisation against this infection can be relaxed Immunisation in early childhood is
still considered necessary if diphtheria infection is to be minimised or, better still,
eliminated.