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
Fulham 1957
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Fulham Borough]
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14
Dysentery
There were 35 cases notified in the first quarter of the year but the number fell
considerably during the following two quarters, rising again in the last three months
particularly in December when 33 cases were notified.
This sudden increase was due to an infection in a Day Nursery where 36 children
and three members of the staff were found to be suffering from Sonne Dysentery.
(In age groups)
| 0-1 | 1- 2 | 3-4 | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-24 | 25-44 | 45-64 | 65 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Fever | 13 | 18 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 33 | |||
| Whooping Cough | 17 | 39 | 34 | 48 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 140 |
| Acute Poliomyelitis | ||||||||||
| Paralytic | - | 2 | - | 1 | - | 2 | - | - | - | 5 |
| Acute Poliomyelitis | ||||||||||
| Non paralytic | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Measles | 42 | 322 | 404 | 723 | 22 | 7 | 11 | - | - | 1,531 |
| Diphtheria | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Acute Pneumonia | - | 3 | 2 | 4 | - | 6 | 10 | 21 | 12 | 58 |
| Dysentery | 6 | 26 | 16 | 24 | 9 | 6 | 18 | 2 | - | 107 |
| Smallpox | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Acute Encephalitis Infective | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Acute Encephalitis Post | ||||||||||
| Infectious | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | |
| Typhoid Fever | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Paratyphoid Fever | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Erysipelas | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Meningococcal Infection | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| Food Poisoning | 5 | - | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 3 | 6 | 18 | |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | - | - | - | - | 8 | 14 | 1 | - | 23 | |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Epidemic Diarrhoea | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| Scabies | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 2 | - | ~ | 12 |
| Tuberculosis Pulmonary | - | - | 1 | 4 | 2 | 30 | 44 | 27 | 8 | 116 |
| Tuberculosis | ||||||||||
| Non Pulmonary | - | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | 5 | - | 8 | |
| 75 | 398 | 474 | 823 | 37 | 73 | 107 | 60 | 23 | 2,070 |
Smallpox Contacts
On 29th June information was received from the Ministry of Health of the occurrence
of two cases of smallpox in another Metropolitan Borough and all the medical
practitioners in Fulham were immediately notified.
On 3rd July further information was received from another authority that a doctor
who was a pathologist at the hospital where the smallpox cases were diagnosed, had been
admitted to hospital as a suspected case of smallpox. Investigations had revealed
that two Fulham residents had visited this doctor's home on 29th June and also that the
doctor himself had attended a party in Fulham on 30th June.
The couple who visited the doctor were immediately contacted and arrangements made
for their vaccination and surveillance; the householders who gave the party were
interviewed and details of all the persons attending the party were obtained. As a
consequence ten Fulham residents were vaccinated and a further five persons were
referred to the Medical Officer of Health of the area in which they lived with the
minimum of delay.
Notification was received on 9th July that it had been established that the doctor
was not a case of smallpox and therefore all concerned were informed and routine
surveillance ended.