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 1945
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Finsbury Borough]
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24.
Smallpox and Vaccination: No cases of small-pox occurred in
the Borough during 1945.
The following is a summary of proceeding under the Vaccination Acts, 1897 to 1898.
| Number of Finsbury birth notifications received from Registrar | 214 |
| Number of Certificates of Vaccination received | 122 |
| Number of deaths before Vaccination | 10 |
| Postponements of medical certificate | 22 |
| Number of certificates of insusceptibility | – |
| Number of notices to other Vaccination Officers re non-resident cases | 34 |
| Number of addresses not traced | 53 |
| Number of Finsbury babies not vaccinated within Statutory period of four months | 29 |
| Number of personal visits made during the year | 643 |
| Cases notified from other Boroughs for enquiry | 188 |
| Certificates of exemption granted after declaration | 21 |
Scarlet Fever:
The number of cases of scarlet fever notified during 1945
was 48, of which 34 were removed to Hospital, the average length of
stay in Hospital being 30 days. There were no deaths from this disease.
Routine visits to patients following discharge were continued.
Diphtheria:
| Year | No. of cases notified | No. of deaths |
|---|---|---|
| 1936 | 126 | 4 |
| 1937 | 107 | 2 |
| 1938 | 101 | 3 |
| 1939 | 58 | 2 |
| 1940 | 27 | 2 |
| 1941 | 35 | – |
| 1942 | 19 | 1 |
| 1943 | 24 | 2 |
| 1944 | 10 | – |
| 1945 | 13 | – |
Efforts were continued during the year to secure a
greater degree of immunisation in the child population by means of
further propaganda and intensive visits by the Health Visitors and
Sanitary Inspectors. The method of intensive visiting has been reported
in detail elsewhere (Medical Officer - 15th April, 1944, page 125)
It was estimated that by the end of 1945, approximately 51.3% of the
child population under five years of age had been immunised against
diphtheria. The number of children of this ago group immunised
during the year was 460.