London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

View report page

Hornsey 1926

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hornsey, Borough of]

This page requires JavaScript

— 23 —
fever, and 116 as compared with 53 in the case of diphtheria.
Sixty-eight per cent, of the cases of scarlet fever and eightynino
per cent, of the cases of diphtheria were removed to hospital.
The former disease caused no deaths, the latter only one. Scarlet
fever still continues to be of a mild typo, and the policy of
removing to hospital large numbers of the sufferers is of doubtful
public health value; many cases could quite well be nursed at
home and more accommodation in hospital would thus become
available for severe cases of measles and of whooping cough.
Authority has been given for the Schick testing of young
children at the Infant Welfare Centres and for their subsequent
immunization against diphtheria. The work will actually be
commenced during 1927.

The following table shows the incidence of infecting cases discharged from hospital since 1921 : —

YEAR.SCARLET FEVER.Persons Infected "Return Cases"Infecting Cases.Percentage of infecting cases.DIPH-THKRI A.Persons Infected "Return Cases''Infecting Cases.Percentage of infecting cases.
192157114122.1189210.53
19222011073.43103
1923100555.0113
192415914*74.433
192577111.343
192689422.2101

* Including two cases belonging to other Hospitals.
"Return cases" mean cases occurring in the same house
or elsewhere and apparently traceable to the person released,
within a period of not less than, twenty-four hours or not more
than twenty-eight days after his return or release from isolation.
The Medical Officer of Health visits all households where
"return" cases of scarlet fever or of diphtheria have occurred,
and the infecting cases are carefully examined for some evidence
of continuing infection.