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
Carshalton 1956
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Carshalton]
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TABLE 11.
| Ward | No. of houses in which occurred | Total Houses | Total Cases | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Case | 2 Cases | 3 Cases | 4 Cases | |||
| St. Helier North | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| St. Helier South | 3 | — | — | — | 3 | 3 |
| St. Helier West | 4 | — | — | — | 4 | 4 |
| North-East | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| North-West | 5 | — | — | — | 5 | 5 |
| Central | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| South-East | 3 | 1 | — | — | 4 | 5 |
| South-West | 5 | 1 | — | — | 6 | 7 |
| Whole District | 23 | 2 | — | — | 25 | 27 |
Diphtheria
The absence of this infection continued for a further year, the seventh
in succession.
Diphtheria Immunisation.
Owing to the continued freedom from this disease some concern has
been felt in recent years for the maintenance of the necessary level of immunity
in the local population conferred by the diphtheria immunisation
scheme. The fact that we have had no cases for seven years does not guarantee
continued freedom. Only with a satisfactory level of yearly acceptance of
this protective treatment can we hope to enjoy the continuation of such
freedom. It might have been expected that deflection of attention to the
newly instituted scheme of vaccination against poliomyelitis would have
prejudiced the acceptance rate for diphtheria immunisation. Actually it
appeared to focus public interest on the value of immunisation procedures
generally and the anti-diphtheria scheme received an indirect fillip.
The arrangements for this prophylactic treatment are the responsibility
of the County Council under Section 28 of the National Health Service Act,
but with the agreement of the District Councils it is arranged in each
sanitary district like smallpox vaccination, by the local Medical Officer of
Health. Treatment is offered before the age of twelve months at the Infant
Welfare Clinics. It can be had also by doctors providing general practitioner
services under the Act. Reinforcing injection is offered as a routine
to the children in the primary schools. By reason of the fact that the
treatment is given actually in the school, a very satisfactory response to
reinforcement is secured as no special clinic attendance is involved.
During 1956, 977 resident children received a primary course of treatment
as follows:
46