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From the above table, it will be seen that seven cases recovered without any injury to sight ;
and one case moved to another area before treatment had been completed.
Puerperal Fever.—Eleven cases of this disease were notified and all were removed to hospital.
In nine instances the patient recovered, and there were two deaths.
Puerperal Pyrexia.—Thirty-five cases of this disease were notified, 27 of the patients being
confined in hospital and eight in their own homes. Six of the eight confined at home were
subsequently removed to hospital for treatment.
None of the notified cases proved fatal.
The council, as suggested by the Minister of Health, have provided facilities for expert assistance
in diagnosis and treatment for patients who are unable to secure this for themselves. In this connection,
Dr. A. Morris Johns, a specialist at Queen Charlotte's Hospital, was appointed to the position
of consulting gynaecologist and obstetrician some years ago. His services are available to any
general practitioner or midwife on request.
Pneumonia and Influenzal Pneumonia.—There are many forms of pneumonia, but the only
kinds notifiable are acute primary pneumonia and influenzal pneumonia. Two hundred and
sixteen notifications were received during the year, 140 patients being certified as suffering from
acute primary pneumonia and 76 from influenzal pneumonia.
The number of deaths from pneumonia was 169, and 100 deaths were certified to be due to
influenza.
Malaria.—Three cases of this disease were notified ; investigations revealed that in two instances
the disease had been contracted abroad, and in the third case malaria had been induced for therapeutic
purposes.
Acute Rheumatism.—Fifty-two cases were notified.
The ninth annual report on the working of the rheumatism scheme during the period
1st October, 1936, to 30th September, 1937, prepared by the medical officer of health and the
physician in charge of the rheumatism centre, appears as appendix I to this report.
Cerebro-spinal Meningitis.—Three cases of this disease were notified, two of the patients being
females aged 4 months and 14 months, and the other a male aged 18 years. Two of the patients
left Kensington, and it is not known whether they recovered completely. The third patient died.
Dysentery.—Sixty-four cases of dysentery were notified. One was of the amoebic type and the
rest were bacillary in origin.
The majority of these cases were due to the Sonne bacillus. There has been an increased
incidence of dysentery due to this type of organism during the year. Many of the cases notified
followed bacteriological examinations of the faeces in very slight cases of diarrhoea in children.
These examinations were performed at the request of medical practitioners who had been notified
that a number of Sonne dysentery cases had occurred, and been asked to be on the look out.
In addition a number of persons harbouring the Sonne bacillus, who gave no history of intestinal
upset, were discovered as a result of examinations of the faeces of contacts.
It seems probable that there are many carriers among the normal healthy population, and
in other years some cases of mild Sonne dysentery have probably gone unrecognised.
The cases were of a mild type but there was one death.
Zymotic Enteritis or Summer Diarrhoea.—Eighty-four cases of zymotic enteritis were notified.
In considering the value to be attached to this figure two points must be remembered. First, the
disease is notifiable only in children under five years of age. Second, zymotic or infective enteritis
is sometimes difficult to distinguish from enteritis following errors in diet and other forms of this
disease which may not be infective ; doctors frequently notify enteritis, whether it be of the zymotic
variety or not, to be on the safe side, or in order that the facilities offered by the council shall be made
available in the treatment of the patient.
There were 47 deaths certified as due to diarrhoea, etc., and of these there were 39 children under
one year of age. Ten of the children under five dying of diarrhoea had been notified.
In 1924 the council adopted a scheme for the control and treatment of zymotic enteritis.
From 1924 until 1934, the scheme was in operation for the summer months only, but during the
past four years it operated from the 1st January to the 31st December.
All cases of notified enteritis are visited by the health visitors and of the 84 notified during the
year 30 were classed as severe and 54 as mild. Fifty-one cases occurred in infants under one year
of age, and 33 in infants aged one year and over. In seven instances there were more than one case
in the same family.
The council retain the part-time services of Dr. Ronald Carter, who has made a special study
of zymotic enteritis, for the treatment in their own homes of cases not attended by other doctors.
The following are extracts from a report by Dr. Carter on his work during the year :—
" During the year 1937 I attended 65 cases in their own homes and paid 550 visits.
Two cases were removed to hospital and there died ; these were the only deaths that occurred
amongst the cases I attended.
I was consulted from time to time by doctors in the borough in regard to cases which showed
unusual symptoms. I saw a few cases of real zymotic enteritis with high temperatures, but these all
responded to treatment and were kept at home. A considerable number of cases of diarrhoea and
vomiting occurred amongst infants who were being weaned too rapidly owing to their mothers having
to go out to work. The mothers did not allow sufficient time for satisfactory weaning to take place.