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
Hampstead 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hampstead Borough]
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20
INFECTIOUS DISEASE
The majority of notifications were due to an epidemic of measles
in the early part of 1953• Whooping cough was the next most common
disease notified. But it is to be expected now that immunisation
against it is freely available at the Child Welfare Clinics, this
disease will become much less common.
Notifications of dysentery and food poisoning both increased and
this emphasises a continual need for instruction in food handling.
The one case of malaria that was notified occurred in a person
recently returned from overseas.
Hampstead was fortunate in not experiencing an epidemic of poliomyelitis during the year, particularly in view of the small epidemic that occurred in the Highgate district bordering on Hampstead
| Disease | Notifications | Removals toHospitals | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acute Encephalitis. Post Infectious | 1 | 1 | – |
| Diphtheria | – | – | – |
| Dysentery | 40 | 10 | – |
| Erysipelas | 7 | 3 | – |
| Food Poisoning | 21 | 2 | – |
| Malaria | 1 | 1 | – |
| Measles | 1,186 | 60 | – |
| Meningococcal Infection | 3 | 3 | 1 x |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 5 | 3 | – |
| Pneumonia | 53 | 16 | 3 |
| Poliomyelitis (Non-Paralytic) | 2 | 1 | – |
| do. (Paralytic) | 10 | 8 | 2Ø |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 34 | 33 | – |
| Scabies | 24 | – | – |
| Scarlet Fever | 44 | 15 | – |
| Whooping Cough | 215 | 21 | – |
| TOTAL: | 1,646 | 177 | 6 |
Cancelled cases have not been included.
x Death of un-notified case.
ø Including one un-notified death.
SMALLPOX
No case of smallpox occurred in the Borough during 1953.