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
Wood Green 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wood Green]
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class is limited to eight children so that the total number of children
dealt with is small, and each child receives individual attention.
The chief defect treated is stammering but treatment is also given
for other defects such as cleft-palate speech and defective articulation.
Progress in most cases tends to be slow, but the results
obtained are generally very good and fully justify the expenditure
of time and money on this type of defect.
VIII.—INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
The number of cases of infectious diseases notified from the
elementary schools in 1938 was 800. This is a considerable increase
on the figure for 1937 which was 519, while in 1936 the number was
889.
The following table gives the numbers of cases of the different infections notified from the elementary schools in 1938, 1937 and 1936.
| 1938 | 1937 | 1936 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Fever | 56 | 41 | 39 |
| Diphtheria | 32 | 24 | 62 |
| Chicken-pox | 145 | 25 | 188 |
| Measles | 440 | 99 | 393 |
| Mumps | 77 | 172 | 39 |
| Whooping Cough | 45 | 146 | 141 |
| Skin Infections | 5 | 12 | 27 |
| Total | 800 | 519 | 889 |
The most prevalent infection in 1938 was measles, -140 cases
as against 99 in 1937. Chicken-pox was also very prevalent, 145
cases as against 25 in the previous year. On the other hand both
mumps and whooping cough were much less prevalent, 77 and 45
cases respectively as compared with 172 and 146 for 1937. The
incidence of both scarlet fever and diphtheria was again low, only
56 cases of the former and 32 of the latter occurring among the
elementary school children.
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