London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1931
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
48
Record of other proceedings taken under the Food and Drugs (Adulteration) Act, 1928.
Nature of offence. Result of proceedings.
Selling margarine otherwise than as margarine * Fined £2.
Exposing for sale margarine not properly marked * Fined £2.
Selling margarine in a wrapper not properly marked. *Fined £2.
Selling margarine in a wrapper not properly marked Fined £1 and 14s. costs.
* These convictions were recorded against the same defendant ; he was also ordered to pay 14/- costs.
The total number of prosecutions under the Food & Drugs (Adulteration) Act was 16, the
fines and costs amounting to £48.
The Public Health (Condensed Milk) Regulations, 1923-1927, and the Public Health (Dried
Milk) Regulations, 1923-1927.—During the year, nine samples of condensed milk were taken and
each was found to comply with the Regulations in every respect. No samples of dried milk were
examined.
Public Health (Preservatives, etc., in Food) Regulations, 1925-1927.—Thirteen contraventions
of the Regulations occurred during the year. In two cases, the offence consisted of selling articles
of food containing boric acid, and proceedings were taken against the vendors. In the remaining
11 cases, the offence consisted of selling sausages containing sulphur dioxide without disclosing
its presence at the time of sale ; the amount used in each instance was below the limit which
would have been allowed if there had been a declaration. Details of the contraventions and
results of action taken are included in the preceding tables.
Chemical and Bacteriological Examination of Food.—A number of samples of food were
submitted to the laboratory at St. Mary Abbots Hospital.
There was no outbreak of food poisoning during the year.
THE PREVENTION OF, AND CONTROL OVER, INFECTIOUS
DISEASE.
NOTIFIABLE INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
The following diseases are compulsorily notifiable in Kensington:—
Acute encephalitis lethargica. Influenzal pneumonia.
Acute polio-encephalitis. Malaria.
Acute polio-myelitis. Membranous croup.
Acute primary pneumonia. Ophthalmia neonatorum.
Acute rheumatism. Plague.
Anthrax. Puerperal fever.
Cerebro-spinal fever. Puerperal pyrexia.
Cholera. Relapsing fever.
Continued fever. Scarlatina or scarlet fever.
Diphtheria. Smallpox.
Dysentery. Tuberculosis.
Erysipelas. Typhoid or enteric fever. \
Glanders. Typhus fever.
Hydrophobia. Zymotic enteritis.
| Year. | Small pox. | Scarlet fever. | Diph. theria. | Enteric fever. | Erysipelas. | Ophthalmia neonatorum. | Puer. peral fever. | †Puerperal pyrexia. | Pneumonia. | Malaria. | Encephalitis lethargica. | P. m'ltis & polioencephalitis. | ‡Acute rheumatism. | Cerebro spina) meningitia. | Dysent. ery. | *Enteritis. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | — | 251 | 356 | 10 | 59 | 17 | 3 | 44 | 241 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 48 | 5 | 2 | 41 | 1,086 |
| 1928 | — | 365 | 274 | 75 | 59 | 11 | 7 | 33 | 154 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 153 | 1 | — | 99 | 1,221 |
| 1929 | 5 | 483 | 297 | 15 | 75 | 22 | 13 | 41 | 260 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 81 | 2 | 2 | 114 | 1,418 |
| 1930 | 4 | 411 | 329 | 32 | 68 | 11 | 8 | 24 | 221 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 99 | 3 | 3 | 85 | 1,304 |
| 1931 | 2 | 385 | 222 | 16 | 61 | 13 | 8 | 61 | 253 | 1 | 1 | — | 46 | 7 | 17 | 41 | 1,134 |
Cases of mistaken diagnosis are excluded from the above table.
† Puerperal pyrexia became notifiable on October 1st, 1926.
‡ Acute rheumatism in children under 16 years of age became notifiable in Kensington on October 1st, 1927.
* Zymotic enteritis in children under 5 years of age became notifiable in Kensington on July 1st, 1924. The other London
boroughs in which this disease is notifiable are Fulham, Finsbury, Poplar, Southwark, Deptford, Greenwich,
Woolwich and Paddington.