View report page

Infectious Diseases among Mothers and Children.
Puerperal Fever.
Two cases of puerperal fever were notified in 1925. One patient died.
In the first case the disease followed the birth of a first child. The mother
was attended at the confinement by a doctor, and the district nurses were in
attendance. This patient recovered.
The second case, which terminated fatally, was notified as puerperal fever on
October 24th. The patient was a married woman. She had a healthy child at a
confinement normal as far as can be ascertained. This confinement took place
at the normal time at home in exceptionally clean surroundings; she was attended
by the external midwifery service of a hospital and by a nurse of the midwifery
service of a nursing association. Labour occurred on October 21st and was
normal; on October 23rd the patient was removed to the Poor Law Infirmary,
and from thence, on October 24th, to a hospital of the Metropolitan Asylums
Board as it was found that she was suffering from scarlet fever in addition to
puerperal fever. Death took place on October 27th.
As far as could be discovered there had been no contact with scarlet fever
either on the part of the student attending from the hospital or the nurse, nor
had either of them been in attendance on a septic case. On the appearance of
the fever a swab was taken from the vagina for bacteriological examination, and
from it were grown streptococci and diphtheroid organisms from which it was
thought that the genital tract was the source of the generalised infection from
which the patient died.
Ophthalmia Neonatorum.
During the year 11 cases of ophthalmia neonatorum occurring in babies
belonging to the Borough were brought to our notice.
Nine out of the 11 cases were notified in accordance with the Public Health
(Ophthalmia Neonatorum) Regulations, 1914, all these notifications being from
institutions. One of these cases was only notified after communication with the
medical attendant.