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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
Islington 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington Borough]
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17
[1937
PREVENTION OF INFECTION.
Notification, Isolation, Fatality, of Specified Diseases under the
Provisions of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936.
The Principal Diseases Include:—
Small Pox, Diphtheria, Scarlet Fever, Enteric Fever, Typhus, Continued Fever,
Puerperal Fever and Erysipelas.
1,527 cases of the principal diseases which are notifiable under the Public
Health (London) Act, 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 22. No case of Typhus, but one case of Continued Fever, was
notified.
The total cases notified are 23 more than those of the previous year (1,504),
and 575 below the average (2,102) 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 324, 151, 2, 6 and 21 below the average.
The 1,527 cases were equal to an attack-rate of 5.7 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. |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 1936 | 1,504 | 4.84 |
| Average | 2,102 | 6.54 |
| 1937 | 1,527 | 5.17 |
Registration Sub-Districts.—The total number of cases notified in these
districts was as follows:—
Total cases notified.
Tufnell 126
Upper Holloway 137
Tollington 192
Lower Holloway 195
Highbury 224
Barnsbury 308
Islington South-East 345
Total 1,527
Small Pox.— No case was notified in 1937 or during the preceding year.
Diphtheria was responsible for 619 cases of illness, which were 151 below
the average (770) of the preceding ten years. The attack rate was equal to 2.10
per 1,000 of the civil population annually, and was 0.33 below the mean rate (2.43)
of the decennial period. In London the attack rate was 1.93 per 1,000.