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
Bromley 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bromley]
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53
SCARLET FEVER.
Forty-seven cases of Scarlet Fever were notified during the year,
giving an attack rate of 0.76 per 1,000 population. Twenty-five of these
cases were home nursed, and twenty-two cases were removed to
hospital.
The infection continued to be mild in character, and the figure for
the year 1951 showed a considerable decrease compared with the
previous year's figure of one hundred and fifteen.
There was one " return " case.
There were no deaths from this disease recorded in the area.
DIPHTHERIA.
There were no cases of this disease notified during the year.
The following tabulation, covering sixty years in five-yearly periods, gives for comparison the number of cases, deaths and mortality percentage: —
| Years. | No. of Cases. | No. of Deaths. | Mortality Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1891-1895 | 94 | 39 | 41.5% |
| 1896-1900 | 139 | 21 | 15.1% |
| 1901-1905 | 170 | 21 | 12.4% |
| 1906-1910 | 262 | 20 | 7.6% |
| 1911-1915 | 347 | 21 | 6.0% |
| 1916-1920 | 354 | 21 | 5.9% |
| 1921-1925 | 149 | 4 | 2.7% |
| 1926-1930 | 249 | 9 | 3.6% |
| 1931-1935 | 190 | 10 | 5.3% |
| 1936-1940 | 116 | 6 | 5.1% |
| 1941-1945 | 67 | 4 | 6.0% |
| 1946-1950 | 18 | 1 | 5.5% |
A brief study of these figures shows clearly the rapid decrease in
incidence of this disease since 1940. I have reported in previous
annual reports the reason for the trend of this, at one time, very serious
disease of childhood.
DIPHTHERIA IMMUNISATION.
During the year 1951, a total of 956 children received Primary
Inoculations and 1,076 Reinforcing Inoculations. (Figures for 1950
were 544 Primary and 499 Reinforcing Inoculations).
A total of 9,893 children under the age of fifteen years on 31st
December, 1951, had completed a course of immunisation (i.e., at any
lime since 1st January, 1937),