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 1958
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
18
Whooping Cough:
By contrast with measles, the number of cases of whooping cough in 1958 was
the lowest in the Borough since whooping cough became notifiable. It is difficult
not to believe that apart from natural variation which may occur in any infectious
disease from year to year, the very substantial number of children in the Borough
who have now received immunising injections against whooping cough is not having
some considerable effect. In the absence of control enquiries, it is not possible
to put the assessment of whooping cough diminution into precise form. If, however,
whooping cough incidence eventually follows the course of diminution similar to
that which has occurred with diphtheria, it will certainly support the view that
active protection against whooping cough is having a major and mass effect.
Nearly one-fifth of all the whooping cough notifications were Under the age of twelve months, at which period whooping cough is at its most dangerous. Early protection against whooping cough is therefore extremely desirable.
| Under 1 year | 1 - 5 | 5 years and upwards | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No of Notifications in 1958 | 20 | 62 | 34 |
| Percentage of total notifications | 17.3 | 53.4 | 29.3 |
| No. of Deaths | _ | - | _ |
The following chart shows the measles and whooping cough position since 1946:-