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
Lewisham 1950
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
65
SECTION " F " — PREVALENCE OF and CONTROL OVER
INFECTIOUS AND OTHER DISEASES
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
The undermentioned diseases are notifiable by Medical Practitioners :—
Anthrax Ophthalmia neonatorum
Cholera Plague
Continued fever Pneumonia, acute influenzal
Diphtheria Pneumonia, acute primary
Dysentery (bacillary or amoebic) Poliomyelitis, acute
Encephalitis, acute Puerperal pyrexia
Enteric fever Relapsing fever
Erysipelas Scabies
Food poisoning Scarlet fever
Glanders Smallpox
Hydrophobia Tuberculosis, all forms
Malaria Typhoid fever, including paratyphoid
Measles Typhus fever
Membranous croup Whooping cough
Meningococcal infection
Principal Notifiable Diseases
Number of Notified Cases (corrected for revised diagnosis) during
the year 1950 with comparative figures for the previous six years. It
should be borne in mind that some of the wartime figures were
considerably affected by evacuation of population.
Table 39
| Diseases | Number of cases notified | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 1949 | 1948 | 1947 | 1946 | 1945 | 1944 | |
| Anthrax | _ | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Continued and relapsing fever | _ | — | — | — | _ | 1 | _ |
| Diphtheria | _ | 3 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 24 | 24 |
| Dysentery | 63 | 9 | 24 | 26 | 57 | 31 | 65 |
| Encephalitis (acute) | 1 | _ | _ | _ | 1 | _ | _ |
| Enteric or typhoid fever | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | _ | _ | |
| Erysipelas | 41 | 35 | 33 | 45 | 34 | 50 | 86 |
| Food poisoning | 38 | 50 | 12 | 3 | 1 | — | — |
| Hydrophobia ......... | - | - | — | — | 1 | — | _- |
| Malaria | 2 | 1 | 2 | 15 | _ | _ | |
| Measles | 2,084 | 1,940 | 2,642 | 810 | 1,307 | 462 | 688 |
| Meningococcal infection | 7 | 3 | 5 | 19 | 11 | 3 | 4 |
| Ophthalmia neonatorum | 3 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Pneumonia | 108 | 84 | 67 | 104 | 108 | 71 | 110 |
| Poliomyelitis (acute) and polioencephalitis | 38 | 35 | 9 | 72 | 5 | ||
| Puerperal pyrexia | 29 | 27 | 50 | 43 | 32 | 25 | 20 |
| Scabies | 22 | 29 | 54 | 122 | 348 | 566 | 654 |
| Scarlet fever | 358 | 521 | 332 | 254 | 155 | 197 | 270 |
| Smallpox | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Tuberculosis | 406 | 371 | 502 | 426 | 437 | 371 | 390 |
| Whooping cough | 813 | 363 | 789 | 362 | 291 | 238 | 275 |
| TOTALS | 3,608 | 3,109 | 4,035 | 1,887 | 2,375 | 1,674 | 2,201 |
For comments on the incidence of certain of these diseases, see
the paragraph on infectious diseases in the introduction of the report
(Page5).
Notifications of infectious diseases in 1950 showing sex and age
groups:—