London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Islington 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
16
1936]
PREVENTION OF INFECTION.
Notification, Isolation, Fatality, of Specified Diseases under the
Provisions of the Public Health (London) Acts, 1891 and 1936.
The Principal Diseases Include :—
Small Pox, Diphtheria, Scarlet Fever, Enteric Fever, Typhus, Continued Fever,
Puerperal Fever and Erysipelas.
1,504 cases of the principal diseases which are notifiable under the Public
Health (London) Acts, 1891 and 1936, came to the knowledge of the Medical Officer
of Health. This number does not include other communicable ailments, which
are also notifiable. The complete list of infectious diseases which are notifiable
in Islington will be found on page 20. No case of either Typhus or of Continued
Fever was notified.
The total cases notified are 135 less than those of the previous year (1,639),
and 578 below the average (2,082) of the preceding ten years. The decreases when
contrasted with the decennial averages are to be found in the returns from Scarlet
Fever, Diphtheria, Enteric Fever, Erysipelas and Puerperal Fever, which were
respectively 319, 206, 7, 31 and 14 below the average.
The 1,504 cases were equal to an attack-rate of 4.84 per 1,000 of the civil
population.
The returns for the preceding ten years are given in the following- statements:—
| Year. | Cases. | Attack-rates per 1,000 civil population. |
|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 1,918 | 5.65 |
| 1927 | 1,813 | 5.42 |
| 1928 | 2,260 | 6.96 |
| 1929 | 2,439 | 7.62 |
| 1930 | 3,057 | 9.38 |
| 1931 | 2,111 | 6.50 |
| 1932 | 1,962 | 6.04 |
| 1933 | 2,016 | 6.32 |
| 1934 | 2,227 | 7.08 |
| 1935 | 1,639 | 5.32 |
| 10 years average 2,082 | 6.48 | |
| 1936 | 1,504 | 4.84 |
Registration Sub-Districts. —The total number of cases notified in these districts was as follows :—
| Total cases notified. | |
|---|---|
| Tufnell | 137 |
| Upper Holloway | 182 |
| Tollington | 128 |
| Lower Holloway | 195 |
| Highbury | 271 |
| Barnsbury | 277 |
| Islington South-East | 314 |
| Total | 1,504 |
SMALL POX.
There was no case notified in 1936, or during the preceding year.
Diphtheria was responsible for 584 cases of illness, which were 205 below
the average (789) of the preceding ten years. The attack rate was equal to 1.88
per 1,000 of the civil population annually, and was 0.58 below the mean rate (2.46)
of the decennial period. In London the attack rate was 1.87 per 1,000.
DIPHTHERIA ANTI-TOXIN.
Under the Special Order of 15th August, 1910, the then Local Government
Board sanctioned the provision by the Sanitary Authority, in pursuance of