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
Hammersmith 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hammersmith Borough]
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Notifiable Diseases (other than Tuberculosis) during the Year 1937.
| DISEASE. | Total cases notified | Cases ad-mitted to Hospital. | Total deaths. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diphtheria | 179 | 179 | 12 |
| Erysipelas | 51 | 37 | — |
| Scarlet Fever | 332 | 322 | 1 |
| Enteric Fever | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Puerperal Fever | 9 | 8 | 4 |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 37 | 36 | |
| Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Encephalitis Lethargica | — | — | — |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 14 | 13 | — |
| Pneumonia | 89 | 33 | 126 |
| Dysentery | 26 | 23 | — |
| Poliomyelitis | 2 | 2 | — |
| Malaria | — | — | —. |
| Food Poisoning | 2 | — | — |
| Totals | 747 | 659 | 147 |
Smallpox.—No case of smallpox was reported.
Cholera.—No case was reported as due to Cholera.
Plague.—No case was reported as due to Plague.
Diphtheria and Diphtheritic Membranous Croup.—
One hundred and seventy-nine cases were reported as due
to Diphtheria or Diphtheritic Membranous Croup against
one hundred and thirty cases in the previous year. All
the cases were treated at the Isolation Hospitals. Twelve
deaths were registered. The mortality rate on the cases
reported was 6.7 per cent. The cases were fairly evenly
distributed throughout the Borough.
Diphtheria is a disease which calls for prompt action by
both the parent and medical practitioner.
Parents often delay calling in a doctor when children are
ill. Any child who complains of a sore throat should be
immediately seen by a doctor and removed to hospital when
the clinical evidence is such as to give reasonable grounds
for assuming the case to be positive.