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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52
Table showing Cases of Infectious Diseases occurring in 1932, arranged in
Four-Weekly Periods (January 3rd, 1932, to December 31st 1933).
Table showing Cases of Infectious Diseases occurring in 1932, arranged in Four-Weekly Periods (January 3rd, 1932, to December 31st 1933).
| Four Weeks ending | Small pox. | Scarlet fever | Diphtheria. | Enteric fever. | Erysipelas. | Ophthalmia neonatorum. | Puer. peral fever. | Puerperal pyrexia. | Pneu-monia. | Malaria. | Encephalitis le-thargica. | Acute rheumatism. | Cerebro spinal meningitis. | Dysentery. | Enteritis. | Polio myelitis. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31 | _ | 26 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 3 | __ | 1 | 46 | - | - | 5 | __ | 1 | 2 | - | 108 |
| February | 28 | 1 | 35 | 33 | — | 5 | — | 2 | 2 | 20 | - | 1 | 2 | 5 | — | 1 | — | 107 |
| March | 27 | — | 27 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 33 | - | — | 8 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 103 |
| April | 24 | — | 37 | 22 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17 | - | — | 4 | 1 | 4 | — | _ | 97 |
| May | 22 | — | 30 | 21 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | - | — | 1 | - | — | 4 | — | 80 |
| June | 19 | — | 40 | 32 | 3 | 8 | 1 | — | 4 | 7 | - | — | 2 | — | — | 3 | — | 100 |
| July | 17 | — | 34 | 54 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 2 | 6 | - | 1 | 5 | — | — | 11 | _ | 118 |
| August | 16 | — | 25 | 31 | 1 | 7 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | 2 | — | 2 | 10 | — | 83 |
| Sept. | 11 | — | 23 | 32 | 1 | 6 | — | 1 | — | 4 | — | — | 4 | — | 2 | 27 | — | 100 |
| October | 9 | — | 57 | 29 | — | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | — | — | 4 | — | 12 | 17 | 1 | 137 |
| November | 6 | — | 59 | 43 | 1 | 7 | 1 | — | 4 | 19 | 1 | — | 5 | — | 3 | 4 | 1 | 148 |
| December | 3 | — | 41 | 41 | 1 | 7 | — | — | 1 | 42 | — | — | 7 | — | — | 3 | _ | 143 |
| „ | 31 | - | 44 | 40 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 20 | - | — | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | — | 128 |
| Totals • | 1 | 478 | 415 | 14 | 81 | 16 | 8 | 31 | 233 | 3 | 2 | 50 | 10 | 25 | 83 | 2 | 1,452 | |
Cases of mistaken diagnosis are excluded from the above table.
A table, showing the number of cases of infectious disease notified in the various age periods,
notified in the various wards, and admitted to hospital, and the deaths from these diseases during
the year, will be found in Appendix II on page 72 of this report.
Smallpox.—During 1932 there was a decrease in the number of smallpox cases notified
in London. One thousand one hundred and thirty-three cases occurred in the metropolitan area,
as compared with 1,452 in the previous year. There were only three deaths from this disease in
London during the year. Twenty-five of the 29 metropolitan boroughs were affected.
Only one case of smallpox was notified in the borough and it occurred in a private house in
North Kensington. The patient was a man aged twenty-five years who was an optician employed
in Acton. No information could be obtained as to how he contracted the disease. He was
removed to hospital and subsequently recovered.
The contacts were urged to be vaccinated or revaccinated as a precautionary measure if this
had not already been carried out, and all necessary vaccinations were performed by the public
vaccinator for North Kensington.
During the year many Kensington residents had been in contact with cases in other districts,
and several came to live in the borough who had been in contact with cases on board ships.
These contacts were kept under daily observation until all possibility of developing the disease had
disappeared. The object of repeatedly visiting these contacts is to secure prompt isolation before
the patient becomes infectious in the event of smallpox developing.
The total number of contacts kept under observation during the year was 83.
Scarlet Fever.—The number of cases notified during the year was 504, of which 465 were
removed to hospital.
Twenty-six patients notified as suffering from scarlet fever were found, after admission to
hospital, not to be suffering from any infectious illness, with the result that they were returned
home.
The following table shows the number of cases notified in the various wards in each fourweekly
period during 1932 :—
The following table shows the number of cases notified in the various wards in each four-weekly period during 1932 :—
| District. | Period No. 1. | Period No. 2. | Period No. 3 | Period No. 4. | Period No. 5. | Period No. 6. | Period No. 7. | Period No. 8. | Period No. 9 | Period No. 10. | Period No. 11. | Period No. 13. | Period No. 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 900 | 912 | 1,006 | 956 | 1,096 | 1,054 | 1,034 | 848 | 792 | 1,296 | 1,639 | 1,408 | 1,270 |
| The Borough | 26 | 35 | 27 | 37 | 30 | 40 | 34 | 25 | 23 | 56 | 59 | 41 | 45 |
| North Kensington | 19 | 25 | 23 | 27 | 18 | 32 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 40 | 45 | 28 | 31 |
| South Kensington | 7 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | |
| St. Charles | 7 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 12 | 15 | 17 | |
| Golborne | 2 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | |
| Norland | 11 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 19 | 9 | 7 | |
| Pembridge | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 1 | |
| Holland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 6 | - |
| Earl's Court | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 1 | — | 2 | 7 | ||
| Queen's Gate | 1 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Redcliffe | 2 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Brompton | — | — | 1 | — | — | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | |
Cases of mistaken diagnosis are excluded from the above table