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 1915
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Enfield]
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Ninety-three cases of Diphtheria occurred during the year in 72 houses, as follows :—
| No. of houses where 1 case occurred | 57 | ||||
| „ „ „ 2 „ „ | 12 | ||||
| „ „ „ 3„ „ | 1 | ||||
| „ „ „ 4„ „ | 1 | ||||
| „ „ „ 5„ „ | 1 | ||||
| Total number of houses where cases occurred | 72 | ||||
Total number of cases 93
In 11 weeks no cases were reported, and for 16 weeks we only
received one each week.
On receipt of a notification it is my invariable custom to swab
as many contacts as I can find, and by this means I was able to
discover 19 carriers during the year, and I always swab every
child who has had an attack of the disease before allowing him
to return to school.
During the last three months of 1915 forty cases of this
disease occurred, chiefly in the Eastern side of the district, and
in the course of my inquiries I was fortunate enough to discover
several inveterate carriers, who, no doubt, were the cause of the
trouble, for shortly after I had detected and isolated them, the
disease quieted down again.
This entailed a large amount of work on my part, as several
of the children had to be visited and swabbed not less than 9 times,
at intervals of one week, before I was able to say they were free
from infection.
ENTERIC FEVER.
Eighteen cases of this disease were notified during the year,
of which one died.
Ten of these cases, which occurred in two houses adjoining
each other, were due to infection brought here by a soldier, who
most probably had a mild unrecognised attack in camp, and was
in a highly infectious condition on his return home on sick leave.