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
Deptford 1960
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Deptford Borough]
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8
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
General
The total number of notifiable infectious diseases showed a decrease of
798. This decrease is largely due to the biennial fall in Measles notifications
viz. 805 in 1959, 94 in 1960. Dysentery also was not so troublesome
as in the previous year (114 in 1959). There was no significant alteration
in the other infectious diseases notified as compared with the previous
year.
Although no cases of Poliomyelitis were notified in this borough, two
copies of notifications to the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham
were sent to me in relation to patients in the Hither Green Hospital whose
home addresses were in Deptford. Similarly, five copies of hospital
notifications in respect of cases of puerperal pyrexia were also received
although only one case was notified directly to me.
No cases of anthrax, cerebro-spinal meningitis, diphtheria, meningococcal
infection, smallpox, typhoid fever, and zymotic enteritis were
notified during the year.
Infectious Diseases. Corrected Notifications.
| 0-1 years | 1-2 years | 2-5 years | 5-15 years | 15-25 years | 25-45 years | 45-65 years | Over 65 years | Total | Deaths | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | |||
| Scarlet Fever | 3 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 17 | 1 | 46 | |||||||||||
| Erysipelas | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||||||
| Dysentery | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 66 | |
| Acute Pneumonia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 48 | ||||
| Measles | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 25 | 19 | 21 | 94 | |||||||||
| Whooping Cough | 11 | 13 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 28 | 21 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 150 | |||||||
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 3 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Ophthalmia neonatorum | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Food Poisoning | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||
| TOTALS | 15 | 19 | 30 | 16 | 55 | 60 | 67 | 74 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 388 | 48 |
* Includes all forms of pneumonia.
Tuberculosis
All new cases in the Borough, whether or not they are transferred from
other areas, are visited by the Public Health Inspectors in order to ascertain
the housing conditions and to see if any improvements can, or should,
be effected.
There was a decrease of 12 in the number of cases of Pulmonary
Tuberculosis notified for the first time (7 male and 5 female) and the
number of deaths due to respiratory tuberculosis in Deptford in 1960
was again low, i.e., 6 males and 1 female.