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
Lambeth 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lambeth Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
86
were at all seriously ill, and their progress was in no way interrupted
by the attenuated measles."
As will be observed in Table J, the case mortality of the
epidemic was only 0.72 per cent.
Ophthalmia Neonatorum.
Great care is exercised in all cases of doubtful or suspected
and real ophthalmia neonatorum, which is the chief cause of
blindness. During the year 1936, 54 cases were notified as
compared with annual averages of 72.8 and 56.2 for the 10 years
1911-1920 and 1921-1930 respectively. Formerly this disease was
notifiable by midwives as well as by medical practitioners with
the result that many cases were "missed" and precautionary
measures were consequently unable to be taken.
Cases Vision Unimpaired Vision Impaired Total Blindness Deaths
| Cases | Vision Unimpaired | Vision Impaired | Total Blindness | Deaths | ||
| Notified | Treated | |||||
| At Home | In Hospital | |||||
| 54 | 51 | 3 | — | — | — | — |
Contacts, Suspects, etc.
The Medical Officer of Health was called in consultation by
medical practitioners to see 11 patients in their homes during the
year. This small number compares favourably with the 748 such
patients seen in 1929 at the time of the smallpox epidemic.
Municipal Bacteriological Laboratory.
The subjoined table shows in some detail the nature of the
work carried out at the laboratory, which is equipped for practically
all routine and special examinations except those which entail