London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Woolwich 1949
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Woolwich]
This page requires JavaScript
The Public Analyst has furnished the following figures, showing the percentage of fat found in each sample of milk submitted during 1949, with comparative figures for 1948:—
| Number of Samples: | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1949. | 1948. | |
| 4.5 per cent, and over | 0 | 0 |
| 4 per cent, and under 4.5 per cent. | 8 | 2 |
| 3.5 per cent, and under 4 per cent. | 184 | 102 |
| 3 per cent, and under 3.5 per cent. | 231 | 230 |
| Below 3 per cent. | 0 | 0 |
| 423 | 334 | |
PREVALENCE AND CONTROL OF INFECTIOUS
DISEASE
The following diseases are notifiable in the Borough:-
Anthrax Ophthalmia Neonatorum
Cholera Pneumonia—Acute Primary
Continued Fever Pneumonia—Acute Influenzal
Diphtheria Poliomyelitis (Acute)
Dysentery Polio-encephalitis (Acute)
Encephalitis Lethargica Plague
Erysipelas Puerperal Pyrexia
Enteric Fever Relapsing Fever
Food Poisoning Scabies
Glanders Scarlet Fever (or Scarlatina)
Hydrophobia Smallpox
Malaria Tuberculosis (all forms)
Measles Typhoid Fever (including Paratyphoid)
Membraneous Croup Typhus Fever
Meningococcal Infection Whooping Cough
(C.S.M.) Zymotic Enteritis
Although notification of an infectious disease in a house is incumbent not only
upon the medical practitioner in attendance but also upon the head of the family
or the nearest relative or person in charge of the patient, in fact it is a rare thing
for a " lay " notification to be received. If the patient is an inmate of a hospital,
in most cases the certificate has to be sent to the Medical Officer of Health of the
district in which the usual residence of the patient is situated, but cases of malaria,
dysentery and the acute pneumonias, are always notifiable to the Medical Officer
of Health of the district in which the patient is residing at the time he is notified.
Diphtheria. There were eight confirmed cases of diphtheria in the Borough
during the year and from enquiries made there was evidence that only one patient
had been immunised. A child who was originally notified as a case of diphtheria
died in hospital; however, the cause of death was attributed to measles.
Whooping Cough and Measles. The minor epidemic of whooping cough
experienced in 1948 did not recur and the number of notifications of this disease
was halved. Measles notifications (1,314) were also less than the number for 1948,
some 283 fewer cases being reported. There was one death from whooping cough
and two from measles.
Scabies. The number of cases notified continues to show a marked decrease,
there being only 30 cases compared with 122 in 1948 and 390 in the year 1944.
Scarlet Fever. The number of notifications of scarlet fever (203) was slightly
lower than the previous year (239) and there were no deaths from this disease.
27