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
Lewisham 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham Borough]
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The Regulations amplify the precautionary measures to be taken
against food poisoning by relating them to typhoid fever, paratyphoid
fever or other salmonella infections, dysentery and staphylococcal
infection likely to cause food poisoning. The previous regulations dealt
with enteric fever and dysentery only. The precautionary measures are
applied to carriers of these diseases as well as to actual patients, and
certain persons can be prevented from continuing in employment which
involves the handling of food and also from entering such employment.
A local authority can authorise the medical officer of health to issue
notices in emergency in order to check the spread of these diseases,
and the Council has given the authorisation in this borough.
Mass radiography unit
I am indebted to Dr. J. M. Morgan, director of the unit, for
information of work done in the borough in 1953 on which the following
table is based :—
Table S3
| Patients | Town Hall October - November | Factories, hospitals, schools during the year | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | Total | |
| General analysis X-rayed | 2,378 | 4,396 | 6,774 | 1,376 | 1,742 | 3,118 |
| (Previously x-rayed) | 1,815 | 2,780 | 4,595 | — | — | — |
| Recalled for large film | 92 | 127 | 219 | 39 | 51 | 90 |
| Normal on large film | 29 | 40 | 69 | 17 | 14 | 31 |
| Abnormal on large film | 62 | 87 | 149 | 22 | 37 | 59 |
| Not yet re-attended | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | — |
| Analysis of abnormal large films :— Cases considered tuberculous, for investigation: | 16 | 19 | 35 | 4 | 10 | 14 |
| (a) proved active | 10 | 9 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| (b) proved quiescent | 3 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| (c) still under investigation | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Non-tuberculous cases for investigation | 6 | 11 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Still under investigation | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | — |
| Cardio-vascular lesions | 1 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Previously known TB cases No action required | 1 38 | 4 43 | 5 81 | 1 13 | 3 18 | 4 31 |
Dr. Morgan comments that the figures are as expected, being
equal to the average figure for the particular type of survey in the
country as a whole.
Immunisation against infectious disease
The publicity campaign sponsored by the Ministry of Health in
connection with diphtheria prophylaxis was continued. In a circular
issued by the Ministry it was stated that since 1944 (when records of