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 1962
[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
1,294 from the previous year. This decrease is mainly accounted for by
the decline in Measles notifications, only 121 against 1,400 in 1961.
Smallpox
In the early part of the year the incidence of some cases of smallpox in
London led to a demand for vaccination, particularly from people who
proposed to travel abroad. Special arrangements for clinics for the general
public were made by the London County Council and supplies of vaccine
were made available to the New Cross General Hospital in order that the
vaccinal state of the staff could be brought up to date. The staffs of two
factories in the Borough that deal in rags were vaccinated and also the
members of the Borough Council staff who come into contact with the
public.
Anthrax
The one case of Anthrax concerned a man who had been employed
in the Surrey Commercial Docks unloading lambs' wool.
Typhoid Fever
This notification was in respect of a small boy who had been on holiday
with his parents in Spain. The cause of the illness was presumed to be
Ice Cream which had been consumed by the child whilst abroad.
Dysentery
There was an increase in the number of cases of Sonne dysentery
occurring during the year. 72 cases were notified as against 23 in 1961.
| 0-1 years | 1-2 years | 2-5 years | 5-15 years | 15-25 years | 25-45 years | 45-65 years | Over65 years | Total | Deaths | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | |||
| Scarlet Fever | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 18 | ||||||||||
| Erysipelas | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Dysentery | 3 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 18 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 72 | |||||
| Acute Pneumonia | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 36* | ||||||||||
| Measles | 4 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 23 | 28 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 121 | |||||
| Whooping Cough | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 13 | |||||||||||
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| Anthrax | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Food Poisoning | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Scabies | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| Zymotic Enteritis | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||||||||||||||
| Typhoid Fever | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| TOTALS | 10 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 31 | 38 | 58 | 40 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 3 | - | 259 | 36 |
•Includes all forms of Pneumonia.
No cases of cerebro-spinal meningitis, diphtheria or ophthalmia neonatorum
were notified during the year.