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
Enfield 1913
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Enfield]
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The following table gives the number of cases of each infectious disease notified during the past five years:—
| Disease. | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Fever | 283 | 156 | 111 | 98 | 158 |
| Diphtheria | 222 | 105 | 53 | 77 | 72 |
| Membranous Croup | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Enteric Fever | 2 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| Small Pox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Erysipelas | 31 | 32 | 49 | 40 | 32 |
| Continued Fever | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Puerperal Fever | 4 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 5 |
| Cerebro-Spinal Fever | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Poliomyelitis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 543 | 298 | 223 | 226 | 279 |
SCARLET FEVER.
I congratulate myself that the number of Scarlet Fever cases
notified is not very considerably larger than 158.
During the year a wave of Scarlet Fever has swept over the
country, more particularly London and Suburbs, and I was quite
prepared for an epidemic of the disease during the Autumn.
The type was very mild, many cases not being diagnosed
until the patient began to desquamate. In fact on more than one
occasion this was the first symptom that gave rise to suspicion that
anything had been the matter with the child.
This is well shown in the case of a row of houses on the outskirts
of the town, where four cases occurred in one house, two next
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