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
Hornsey 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hornsey, Borough of]
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occurred within fourteen days after childbirth or miscarriage must be
notified. Previously it was necessary for this temperature to be sustained
or to reoccur during a period of twenty-four hours. The reason for a
change in definition is the possibility of masking symptoms by prompt
use of modern drugs.
DIPHTHERIA IMMUNISATION
Regular sessions for this purpose are held at the Welfare Centres and
the parents of children attending the Day Nurseries are also encouraged
to allow their children to be immunised.
Immunisation in relation to child population:—
Number of children at 31st December, 1951, who had completed a course of immunisation
| Age in years at 31/12/51 | Under 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 to 9 | 10 to 14 | Total under 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number Immunised | 66 | 805 | 1,079 | 1,157 | 1,445 | 3,661 | 408 | 8,621 |
| Estimated mid-year child population 1951 | Children under five 8,430 | Children 5-14 10,400 | 18,830 | |||||
There was no case of diphtheria in Hornsey during the year. Two
persons were admitted to hospital under observation but were found not
to suffer from diphtheria. The first was a baby boy of nine months who
was diagnosed as suffering from glandular fever; he had completed
immunisation a month previously. The other case, a man of fifty-four
years, was diagnosed as tonsillitis; he had not been immunised.
This was the tenth consecutive year during which there had been no
death from diphtheria in Hornsey. The remarkable advance that has been
made as the result of diphtheria immunisation may be illustrated by the
fact that in Hornsey from the beginning of this century until 1941 there
had been at least one death from diphtheria each year. The national
immunisation campaign commenced in 1941 but a start had been made
in Hornsey in 1936. It should be realised, however, that the freedom of
the community from deaths from this cause depends on maintaining a
sufficiently high proportion of the child population immunised. The aim
is to maintain at least 70 per cent of the child population protected and
it cannot be stressed too frequently that babies should be immunised as
soon after the age of six months as possible. In Hornsey the proportion
of immunised children under the age of fifteen years at the end of the
year was approximately 45 per cent.
National figures show that in the first forty years of this century over
3,000 deaths of children from diphtheria occurred annually. By 1951 this
had fallen to the low figure of 34 in England and Wales. Deaths among
immunised children as compared with the non-immunised are estimated
as in the proportion of 22:1. Despite the now known advantages of
immunisation against diphtheria, and the facilities so readily available,
it is regretted that during the past three years there has been a sharp fall
in the acceptance rate by the parents of young children.
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