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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128
Diphtheria.
Last year 138 cases were notified as suffering from diphtheria
and admitted to the isolation hospitals maintained by the London
County Council. After admission it is sometimes found that an
error of diagnosis has been made and 37 cases were sent home.
These cases were diagnosed as follows:—
Asthma 1 Pharyngitis 2
Coryza 1 Scarlet Fever 3
Laryngitis 5 Tonsilitis 19
Whooping Cough 1
Four cases were described as not diphtheria,and one as
no obvious disease."
When the figures are adjusted for wrong diagnosis, a total
number of 101 cases is left, 9 of which were contracted in the hospital
to which the patient had been admitted for some other disease.
Deaths.— There were 3 deaths, equal to a case mortality of
3 per cent. In 1937 the number of deaths was 2, giving a case
mortality of i-8 per cent.
The particulars of cases for the last 10 years are appended:—
| Year. | No. ofCases. | No. of Deaths. | Case Mortality No. of Deaths per 100 Cases notified. | No. of Cases per 10,000 of Population. | No. of Deaths per 10,000 of Population. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 187 | 6 | 3.2 | 26.3 | .84 |
| 1930 | 302 | 9 | 2.9 | 42.9 | 1.28 |
| 1931 | 165 | 5 | 3.0 | 23.5 | .71 |
| 1932 | 165 | 6 | 3.6 | 23.9 | .87 |
| 1933 | 214 | 8 | 3.7 | 32.1 | 1.2 |
| 1934 | 213 | 13 | 6.1 | 32.8 | 2.0 |
| 1935 | 188 | 1 | .53 | 29.8 | .16 |
| 1936 | 126 | 4 | 3.2 | 19.9 | .63 |
| 1937 | 107 | 2 | 1.8 | 18.2 | .34 |
| 1938 | 101 | 3 | 3.0 | 17.7 | .52 |