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
Islington 1956
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington Borough]
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15
London (Measles and Whooping Cough) Regulations, 1938.
Home visiting of measles and whooping cough cases was carried out by the
Home Visitors as under :—
No. of Investigations
No. of Ineffective
Measles Whooping Cough Visits Re-visits
2,089 558 306 7
Acute Poliomyelitis
There were relatively few confirmed poliomyelitis cases in the borough during
the year, the incidence being less than a quarter of the 1955 total. Although poliomyelitis
is normally a summer infection rather than a winter one, it is not invariably
so, and it will be seen from the table below that there were no cases at all during
the four summer months, but a few during the autumn and early winter. This
supports what we know is the unpredictability within our present knowledge of the
behaviour of poliomyelitis.
The cases reported for each of ten years are set out as under :—
| No. Reported | No. CONFIRMED | |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | 34 | 13* |
| 1955 | 97 | 56 |
| 1954 | 35 | 12 |
| 1953 | 47 | 17 |
| 1952 | 30 | 15 |
| 1951 | 21 | 8 |
| 1950 | 54 | 31 |
| 1949 | 88 | 62 |
| 1948 | 11 | 9 |
| 1947 | 35 | 24 |
| Onset dates | Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. | May June | July | Aug. | Sep t. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 3 | ||
| 1955 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 9 | 3 | ||
| 1954 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 195 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — |
| 1952 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 2 | 8 | — | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 1951 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 1950 | I | — | 1 | — | 2 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — |
| 1949 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | 6 | 17 | 18 | — | 4 |
| 1948 | — | 1 | — | 2 | — | 1 | — | 2 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| t947 | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Age distribution : | Under I vr. | 1— | 5 - | 15— | 25 and over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *1956 | — | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 1955 | 5 | 19 | 15 | 5 | 12 |
| 1954 | — | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 1953 | — | 6 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1952 | — | 1 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 1951 | — | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1950 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 4 | |
| 1949 | 3 | 35 | 17 | 2 | 5 |
| 1948 | — | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 1947 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 |
Deaths—1956—Nil.
1955—3 (17½ years; 30 years; and 5 years-—the latter contracted outside the
borough, and not included in above tables).