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
Battersea 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Battersea Borough]
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53
Notifiable Infectious Diseases.
During 1937 under the notification clauses of the Public
Health (London) Act, 1936, and the Orders and Regulations made
thereunder, 2,083 cases of infectious diseases (excluding tuberculosis)
were notified, including cerebro-spinal fever 9, enteric fever 4.
In 1936 the total was 3,862. The decrease in the number of cases
notified during" 1937 was chiefly due to the comparative quiescence
of measles.
The following is an alphabetical list of the diseases compulsorily notifiable in Battersea:—
| Anthrax. | Ophthalmia neonatorum. |
| Cerebro-spinal fever. | Plague. |
| Cholera. | Pneumonia, acute influenzal. |
| Continued fever. | „ acute primary. |
| Diphtheria. | Polio-encephalitis, acute. |
| Dysentery. | Polio-myelitis, acute. |
| Encephalitis lethargica, acute. | Puerperal fever. |
| Enteric (typhoid) fever. | „ pyrexia. |
| Erysipelas. | Relapsing fever. |
| Glanders. | Scarlet fever. |
| Hydrophobia. | Small pox. |
| Malaria. | Tuberculosis. |
| Measles. | Typhus fever. |
| Membranous croup. | Whooping cough. |
Excluding tuberculosis, measles and whooping cough, there were
900 infectious cases notified, which occurred in 809 houses. Of
these cases 704, or 78.2 per cent., were removed to the isolation
hospitals of the London County Council or to other institutions and
196, or 21·8 per cent., remained under treatment at home.
Full particulars of all notifiable infectious diseases will be
found in the form required by the Ministry of Health on the next
page, and the distribution of the cases notified in the registration
sub-districts and the wards is shown in the table on page 55.
Cases of " Contacts" which were reported to the Medical
Officer of Health were kept under observation in connection with
various diseases.