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
Camberwell 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Camberwell.
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31
PREVALENCE OF, AND CONTROL OVER,
INFECTIOUS AND OTHER DISEASES.
Notification.
The introduction of compulsory notification of infectious
diseases to the Medical Officer of Health of the district had for
its object the isolation of the infectious sick and the destruction
of the infection already existing. To be of value, therefore, for
the purpose of protecting the community, notification must be
accurate and speedy.
While the notifications after correction of diagnosis provide
a sufficiently accurate picture of such diseases as acute poliomyelitis
and meningococcal infection, yet the same cannot be
said of measles and whooping cough. Notification has the great
drawback that only persons suffering from disease are notifiable
and does not take into account those who, though they may be
spreading the infection, are in good health.
The following table shows the diseases which are notifiable in Camberwell, together with the statutory authority for notification.
| Disease. | Authority for notification. |
|---|---|
| Acute encephalitis | Public Health Act, 1936 (Sect. 143). Regulation (No. 2259) made by Minister of Health, 1949. (1.1.50.) |
| Acute influenzal pneumonia | Public Health Act, 1936 (Sect. 143). Regulation (No. 1207) made by Minister of Health, 1927. (1.1.28.) |
| Acute primary pneumonia | Ditto ditto |
| Acute poliomyelitis | Public Health Act, 1936 (Sect. 143). Regulation (No. 2259) made by Minister of Health, 1949. (1.1.50.) |
| Anthrax | L.C.C. Order, 1909—Public Health (London) Act, 1936 (Sections 192 and 305). |
| Cholera | Public Health (London) Act, 1936 (Sections 192 and 304). |
| Continued fever | Ditto ditto |
| Diphtheria | Ditto ditto |
| Dysentery | Public Health Act, 1936 (Sect. 143). Regulation (No. 1207) made by Minister of Health, 1927. (1.1.28.) |
| Enteric fever (includes typhoid and paratyphoid). | Public Health (London) Act, 1936 (Sections 192 and 304). Regulation (No. 1207), made by the Minister of Health, 1927. (1.1.28.) |
| Erysipelas | Public Health (London) Act, 1936 (Sections 192 and 304). |