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
Finsbury 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Finsbury Borough]
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120
Scarlet Fever.
Last year 167 cases were notified as suffering from scarlet
fever. The number of cases wrongly diagnosed was 23, leaving
144 true cases, of which all were treated in isolation hospitals. There
were no deaths.
Those cases wrongly diagnosed were found to be suffering from:—
| Chicken Pox | 3 | Eczema | 1 |
| Coryza | 2 | Measles | 9 |
| Erythema | 1 | Tonsilitis | 7 |
The particulars of cases for the last10 years are subjoined:—
| Year. | No. ofCases. | No. of Deaths. | Case Mortality. No. of Deaths per 100 Cases. | No. of Cases per 10,000 of Population. | No. of Deaths per 10.000 of Population. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 272 | 1 | .37 | 38.3 | .14 |
| 1930 | 298 | 1 | .36 | 42.3 | .14 |
| 1931 | 153 | - | — | 21.8 | — |
| 1932 | 267 | 2 | .75 | 38.7 | .29 |
| 1933 | 411 | 1 | .24 | 61.6 | .15 |
| 1934 | 369 | 2 | .54 | 56.8 | .31 |
| 1935 | 189 | 1 | .53 | 29.6 | .16 |
| 1936 | 135 | 1 | .74 | 22.2 | .16 |
| 1937 | 114 | — | — | 19.4 | — |
| 1938 | 144 | — | — | 25.3 | — |
Twelve patients developed scarlet fever whilst they were
detained in hospital for other causes. There were no return cases. Scarlet fever to-day is an exceedingly mild disease and
causes very few deaths. Measles is far more fatal. When measles
is epidemic, and there is a great shortage of hospital beds, cases of
measles should be removed to hospital, and scarlet fever may well
be treated at home.