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
Leyton 1950
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Leyton]
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23
DIPHTHERIA.
Last year I was pleased to be able to report that, for the first
time since official figures became available, no case of confirmed
diphtheria had been notified, and it gives me added pleasure to
record a second successive year in which no confirmed case has
been notified.
DIPHTHERIA.
Last year I was pleased to be able to report that, for the first time since official figures became available, no case of confirmed diphtheria had been notified, and it gives me added pleasure to record a second successive year in which no confirmed case has been notified.
| Year. | Cases Notified. | Deaths. | Case Fatality. per cent. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | 44 | 1 | 2.27 |
| 1942 | 39 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 1943 | 28 | 1 | 3.57 |
| 1944 | 24 | 1 | 4.16 |
| 1945 | 43 | 2 | 4.60 |
| 1946 | 38 | 1 | 2.60 |
| 1947 | 9 | 1 | 11.10 |
| 1948 | 5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 1949 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 1950 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
In order to provide in brief outline a tabular picture of
diphtheria incidence and mortality, I append below the relative
information shown at ten-yearly intervals since 1890:—
In order to provide in brief outline a tabular picture of diphtheria incidence and mortality, I append below the relative information shown at ten-yearly intervals since 1890:—
| Year. | Cases Notified. | Deaths. | Case Fatality per cent. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 210 | 47 | 22.30 |
| 1900 | 224 | 28 | 12.50 |
| 1910 | 167 | 22 | 13.20 |
| 1920 | 354 | 27 | 7.60 |
| 1930 | 313 | 12 | 3.90 |
| 1940 | 55 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 1950 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
To those of us who remember diphtheria as one of the chief
causes of death and lifelong disability, and a severe drain on public
expenditure, these figures provide encouraging evidence of a welcome
turn in the tide of diphtheria incidence and mortality.
Information regarding immunisation against diphtheria is to
be found on page 26 of this report.
SCARLET FEVER.
Since the year 1941 only one death has been attributable to
scarlet fever—and the disease still continues of the mild type to
which we have become accustomed.