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
Brentford and Chiswick 1955
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Brentford and Chiswick]
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Number of children at 31 12 55 who had completed a course of diphtheria immunisation at any time before that date (i.e„ at any time since 1.1.41).
| Age at 31. 12. 55. i.e. born in year | Under 1 1955 | 1-4 1954 - 51 | 5 - 9 1950- 46 | 10 - 14 1945 - 41 | Total under 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89 | 1 956 | 2,601 | 545 | 5,191 | |
| - | - | 936 | 2,182 | 3.118 |
The figures for immunisation against diphtheria are still falling The
number of primary immunisations in 1955 was 463 as compared with 583 in 1954
and was 671 in 1953 It is considered that in order to prevent the risk of
diphtheria again becoming a danger in the event of a case occurring the
proportion of schoolchildren who should be immunised should be not less than 75%„
Figures for the number of children under 15 estimated to be living in
Brentford and Chiswick at the present time are not made available by the
Registrar General but taking the figure at the 1951 Census as a rough guide,
i.e. a population of 11,418 children under 15 the percentage of children of
school age who have at some time in their lives received a full course of immunisation
against diphtheria and who have therefore reasonable protection is
roughly 72,8 On these calculations although they are approximate only, there
is reason for concern that the community protection against diphtheria is below
the safety margin.
It is disturbing however to note that the number of children who receive
a booster dose, i„e, the dose given just before school entry to reinforce the
effects of the primary immunisation., keeps to a fairly low level, although it
has not fallen during the past year, being 350 in each year,
A reminder that diphtheria is still a dangerous and even deadly disease
occurred during 1955, for in Middlesex there was one death from this cause, in
London two, and in Essex one. Following these incidents there was a great
increase in the number of parents bringing their children for immunisation in
the districts concerned, but if a real outbreak had occurred this would have
been too late to benefit the non-immunised children, In the whole of England
and Wales there were nine fatal cases of diphtheria as compared with six in
1954,
Whooping Cough
50 cases of whooping cough occurred in 1955,, No deaths occurred from
Whooping Cough
Dysentery and Food Poisoning
There was no serious outbreak of dysentery or food poisoning during the
year Eight cases of gastro- enteritis were notified as food poisoning They
were all single cases,, The organism identified in four of these cases was
Salmonella typhi-murium and the infection had been caused by personal contact
during the course of a large outbreak of food poisoning due to Salmonella
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