View report page

IL—NOTIFICATION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE.
In Table 111. of Appendix will be found particulars of infectious diseases notified during the
year under report.
The number of cases notified exclusive of notification of phthisis which numbered 779 was
896, compared with 943* in 1911, and 746 in 1910. The disease which shows a decrease on the
number for the previous year is diphtheria (49), while those showing an increase are scarlet fever
(106), puerperal fever (6), cerebro-spinal meningitis (2), ophthalmia neonatorum (6), typhus fever (1),
enteric fever (5), membranous croup (1), acute poliomyelitis or acute polio-encephalitis (5). The
number of cases notified in the registration sub-districts was 598 in Bermondsey against 655 in 1911,
238 in Rotherhithe against 242, and 60 in St. Olave against 46 in 1911.
The attack-rate per thousand inhabitants was 7.1, the rate for the sub-districts being 7.3
for Bermondsey, 6-9 for Rotherhithe, and 7.0 for St. Olave. The corresponding rates in the previous
year were 7.5 for the Borough, 8.0 for Bermondsey, 6.9 for Rotherhithe, and 5.3 for St. Olave.
32 cases were returned from hospital as not suffering from the disease for which they were
notified, but if allowance is made for mild unreported cases, the recorded notifications would, if
anything, understate the actual number of cases.
Small-pox.
No cases were notified during the year under report.
Typhus Fever.
One case of typhus fever was notified during the year under report. This case was seen by me
on October 3rd in company with the medical attendant. The rash was fairly typical of typhus and
the man seemed very ill and subsequently died. His mental condition, however, was clear and
there was a total absence of the usual concomitants of the disease, viz., poverty, dirt and overcrowding,
etc. The man was a lighterman earning good wages and had a very good home. As no
other case occurred in the house it is difficult to be absolutely certain whether the case was a genuine
one, but arguing by the process of exclusion it was impossible to come to any other diagnosis.
Diphtheria.
There were 211 cases of diphtheria notified in 1912, of which 137 occurred in Bermondsey,
65 in Rotherhithe, and 9 in St. Olave. This is a decrease on 1911, for which the figures were :—
Borough, 260 ; Bermondsey, 184 ; Rotherhithe, 60 ; and St. Olave, 16. From the following table
it will be seen that a slight decrease has taken place throughout London.
Cases of Diphtheria Notified.
Year.
London.
Bermondsey.
8,368
161
1892
367
1893
13,712
11,204
446
1894
281
1895
11,231
13,825
425
1896
393
1897
13,217
11,883
326
1898
734
1899
13,711
1900
12,023
471
12,156
329
1901
1902
10,731
277
7,738
172
1903
191
1904
7,219
6,482
165
1905
327
1906
8,041
8,779
311
1907
251
1908
8,001
6,679
191
1909
207
1910
5,494
7,385
260
1911
211
1912
7,101
308
Average
9,761
The attack-rate per thousand inhabitants was 1.68, against 2.1 in 1911. The case mortality
was 8.1 per cent., against 5.0 per cent, in 1911 and 8.7 per cent, in 1910. 10 cases were returned
as not suffering from this disease.
223 specimens were sent in by medical practitioners for bacteriological examination, against
176 in 1911 and 122 in 1910. Of these 49 were found to contain diphtheria bacilli, all of which were
notified.
In 14 cases of diphtheria the source of infection was attributed to previous cases in the house
or family.
The following appeared in the report last year and gives an explanation of the method adopted
in this Borough to prevent the spread of this disease.
Diphtheria is a disease caused by a characteristic bacillus known as the Klebs-Loeffter Bacillus,
which occurs in the throats of persons attacked by the disease. It seems to be conveyed from
person to person by direct contact, and there is no virulent disease which will spread more rapidly
under certain circumstances than this will among school children. It is more or less directly conveyed
* This number included 142 cases of chicken-pox.