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 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Battersea Borough]
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14
There were 23 confirmed cases in 1947, 5 in 1948, 28 in 1949, 7 in
1950, 2 in 1951 and 14 in 1952.
During the year there was only one case of diphtheria in the
Borough, occurring in a child who had never been immunised.
The following table shows the number (corrected) of cases notified during 1953 and, for the purpose of comparison, the average number of cases notified annually in the five years, 1948–1952:–
| Notified | Average | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | 1948/52/ | |||
| Diphtheria | 1 | 5 | ||
| Erysipelas | 20 | 24 | ||
| Scarlet fever | 90 | 176 | ||
| Enteric (Typhoid) fever | 1 | 1 | ||
| Continued fever | 1 | – | ||
| Puerperal pyrexia | 32 | 23 | ||
| Meningococcal infection | 5 | 3 | ||
| Ophthalmia neonatorum | 2 | 4 | ||
| Acute Encephalitis | 1 | 1 | ||
| Polio-myelitis & Polio-encephalitis | 12 | 11 | ||
| Malaria | – | |||
| Dysentery | 24 | 10 | ||
| Pneumonia | ||||
| (Acute primary) | 60 | 91 | ||
| (Acute influenzal) | 14 | 10 | ||
| Scabies | 8 | 39 | ||
| Food poisoning | 4 | 6 | ||
| Whooping cough | 410 | 327 | ||
| Measles | 762 | 1,315 | ||
| Tuberculosis (all forms) | 165 | 181 | ||
| Totals | 1,612 | 2,227 | ||
Diphtheria and Whooping Cough Immunisation,
Smallpox Vaccination.
Diphtheria and whooping cough immunisation and vaccination
against smallpox were carried out throughout the year under the control
of the London County Council.