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
Heston and Isleworth 1955
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Heston and Isleworth]
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During these ten years more children under the age of 15 years met accidental
deaths than died of diphtheria, scarlet fever, measles, whooping cough and
poliomyelitis combined. Prevention of accidents is the responsibility of every
individual citizen. Care and attention in the home in the factory and on the roads
by everyone is necessary if the tragic results of accidents are to be reduced. For
old people accidents are a special risk.
Cremations in Great Britain have increased from 4.31 per cent of all deaths in
1941 to 24.57 per cent, in 1955- At the end of the year 82 crematoria were in
operation.
The causes of infant deaths are shown in Table III. In the following table, the change in the local infant mortality rate over 5 year periods from 1898 is shown:-
| No. of live births | No. of deaths under 1 year | Infant Mo rtality Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1898-1902 | 4,369 | 698 | 160 |
| 1903-1907 | 5,264 | 665 | 126 |
| 1908-1912 | 5.383 | 590 | 110 |
| 1913-1917 | 4,661 | 461 | 99 |
| 1918-1922 | 4,326 | 327 | 76 |
| 1923-1927 | 4,333 | 271 | 63 |
| 1928-1932 | 6,055 | 318 | 53 |
| 1933-1937 | 7,121 | 313 | 44 |
| 1938-1942 | 6.912 | 393 | 57 |
| 1943-1947 | 8,210 | 345 | 42 |
| 1948 1952 | 6 680 | 146 | 22 |
| 1953 | 1,268 | 23 | 18 |
| 1954 | 1.185 | 31 | 26 |
| 1955 | 1,164 | 28 | 24 |
If the loss of life from stillbirths and early death of babies is to be reduced,
local health authorities., general practitioners and hospitals have a part to play in
trying to improve mothercraft, ante-natal care and the management of birth.
Maternal deaths are usually divided into those due to septic infection and those due to diseases and other conditions associated with pregnancy and labour, and the local trend of deaths from these two causes is shown below:-
| Sepsis | Other Causes | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930-34 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 4.4 |
| 1935-39 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 3.1 |
| 1940-44 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.9 |
| 1945-49 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
| 1950-54 | - | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| 1955 | - | - | - |
Here, as throughout the country, advances in the prevention and treatment of
septic infections can be measured by the considerable reduction in deaths from
septic abortion puerperal fever, etc.
INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Notification to the Medical Officer of Health is the essential preliminary to
the control of infectious disease. The diseases required by statute to be
notified:- smallpox, cholera, diptheria, membranous croup, erysipelas, scarlet fever,
typhus fever, typhoid fever paratyphoid fever, relapsing fever, plague,
poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, malaria , dysentery, puerperal pyrexia, ophthalmia
neonatorum, acute primary pneumonia, acute influenzal pneumonia, whooping cough.
measles, acute encephalitis, meningococcal infection, and food poisoning. It is
known that all cases are not notified, but there are no grounds for suspecting that
the level of notification varies to any great extent from year to year. Persons
travelling overseas may require to produce evidence of recent vaccination against
smallpox or inoculation against yellow fever, cholera and typhoid fever, Such
certificates require to be endorsed by the Medical Officer of Health, and during the
year 365 were so endorsed.
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