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
Kensington 1932
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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51
In the cases notified an analysis of the foods suspected of causing the illness was made and
resulted as follows :—
Food causing illness. No. of cases.
Haddock 1
Kosher meat 1
Fried fish 1
Steak and kidney pudding 1
Pork sandwiches 1
Dried prunes 1
Sausage rolls 1
Breakfast sausage 1
Eels 1
Meat pie 1
Bacon and beer 1
Pork 1
Crab salad 1
Unknown 13
It will be seen that in 13 cases no particular food was suspected, and in the remaining 13 cases
a different type of food was suspected in every case.
Several articles of food were submitted to the bacteriologist for examination, but in no case
was a report received from him regarding the presence of any of the salmonella group of organisms.
It is also worthy of mention that in every case the illness was only a mild one, and the patient
recovered in a day or two.
Careful enquiries were made in all the cases notified, and it is clear that there was no outbreak
of food poisoning in the borough. Many of the cases notified must be regarded as suspicious rather
than as actual cases of food poisoning.
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 (not induced).
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. | Ophthal. mia neonatorum. | Puer. peral fever. | Puerperal pyrexia | Pneumonia. | Malaria. | Encepha-litis le. tbargica. | P. m'itis & polio. encephalitis. | ‡ Acute rheumatism. | Cerebro spina) mening. itis. | Dysentery. | &Enter itis. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 1981 | 2 | 385 | 222 | 16 | 61 | 13 | 8 | 61 | 253 | 1 | 1 | — | 46 | 7 | 17 | 41 | 1,134 |
| 1932 | 1 | 478 | 415 | 14 | 81 | 16 | 8 | 31 | 233 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 50 | 10 | 25 | 1,452 |
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.