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4. Male. Aged 5 years. Notified 17th July. Still in Queen Mary's Hospital, Carshalton..
5. Male. Aged 7 years. Notified 28th July. Still in Queen Mary's Hospital, Carshalton.
6. Female. Aged 11 years. Notified 4th August. Died at Queen Mary's Hospital,
Carshalton.
7. Male. Aged 1 year. Notified 9th August. Still attending North Kensington
(Raymede) Massage Centre for treatment for paralysis.
8. Female. Aged 4 years. Notified 11th August. Still an out.patient of St. George's
Hospital.
9. Male. Aged 19 years. Notified 25th August. Last heard of in November. Present
address not known.
10. Female. Aged 8 years. Notified 6th September. Still attending North Kensington
(Raymede) Massage Centre for treatment for paralysis.
There is accommodation for patients suffering from the after effects of polio-myelitis and polioencephalitis
at the Queen Mary's (M.A.B.) Hospital, Carshalton, and some cases are accepted at
various other hospitals. The North Kensington (Raymede) Massage Clinic, conducted on the
premises of the Raymede Infant Welfare Centre, has carried out useful work in connection with
treatment of children who suffer from paralysis as a result of these diseases.
Cerebro Spinal Meningitis.—There were four cases of this disease notified during the
year, particulars of which are subjoined :—
1. Male. Aged 1 year. Notified 1st March. Removed to hospital. Died.
2. Female. Aged 22 months. Notified 9th April. Removed to hospital. Died.
3. Female. Aged 32 years. Notified 7th October. Removed to hospital. Recovered.
4. Female. Aged 1 year. Notified 10th November. Removed to hospital. Recovered.
Dysentery.—There was one case of this disease notified, the patient being the wife of a
professional man. She had been in India and possibly contracted the disease in that country.
There was no spread of infection.
Two patients belonging to Kensington died from dysentery at the Hanwell Mental Hospital.
They had not resided in the Borough for some time prior to death, but cases of this kind occurring
in such an institution are allocated by the Registrar General to the Borough in which the patients
lived prior to admission.
Zymotic Enteritis.—The number of deaths from this disease in the year 1924 was 29.
Eighteen of these were in children under the age of one year, one was in a child of one year of age,
and the other ten were in persons over 25 years of age.
This disease has been responsible for a very large number of deaths of children for many
years past. The following table shows the number of deaths of infants under the age of twelve
months attributable to this cause during the last five years:—
1920 58
1921 77
1922 22
1923 42
1924 18
During the year, zymotic enteritis received the careful consideration of the Council and it was
concluded that further progress could not be made in preventive work unless the Council's Officers
had more precise knowledge enabling them to locate all cases of the disease, to trace their origin
and to watch the lines of the spread of infection during the summer months. This knowledge can
be obtained by notification, therefore the Council resolved that zymotic enteritis in children under
the age of five years should be made a notifiable disease in the Borough.
The Minister of Health having given his approval, the disease became compulsorily notifiable
on July 1st, 1924. The other Boroughs in London in which this condition is notifiable are Fulham,
Finsbury, Poplar, Southwark, Deptford, Greenwich and Woolwich.
With notification it is possible to take effective steps in regard to prevention and treatment of
the disease, and the following scheme was put into operation on the date it became notifiable.
Prevention.
The particulars in regard to each notification of enteritis received are telephoned to the
appropriate Women Health Officer who visits the home forthwith and gives such advice on
measures of prevention as is necessary. She leaves a pamphlet dealing with the prevention and
treatment of the disease, and to avoid confusion in the mind of the mother, her advice follows
on the lines of the pamphlet with only such modifications as the circumstances of the case
indicate.
If during the course of their daily work the Women Health Officers hear of any cases through
unofficial sources, these are visited at once and if necessary a doctor is called in.