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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 1959
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington Borough]
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22
Diphtheria
Cases and Deaths - 1927 - 1959
| Year | Notified Cases | Deaths | Year | Notified Cases | Con-firmed Cases | Deaths | Year | Notified Cases | Con-firmed Cases | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 720 | 25 | 1938 | 595 | Not available | 23 | 1949 | 55 | 17 | 2 |
| 1928 | 760 | 25 | 1939 | 254 | 10 | 1950 | 50 | 19 | 1 | |
| 1929 | 1008 | 34 | 1940 | 101 | 2 | 1951 | 43 | 17 | 1 | |
| 1930 | 1248 | 42 | 1941 | 174 | 11 | 1952 | 23 | _ | _ | |
| 1931 | 714 | 15 | 1942 | 201 | 2 | 1953 | 12 | 1 | _ | |
| 1932 | 601 | 20 | 1943 | 188 | 9 | 1954 | 6 | 1 | _ | |
| 1933 | 551 | 33 | 1944 | 94 | 38 | 2 | 1955 | 9 | 1 | _ |
| 1934 | 815 | 32 | 1945 | 86 | 45 | 3 | 1956 | 8 | 2 | _ |
| 1935 | 760 | 13 | 1946 | 137 | 50 | _ | 1957 | 9 | 1 | _ |
| 1936 | 583 | 31 | 1947 | 72 | 19 | 1 | 1958 | 6 | 2 | _ |
| 1937 | 623 | 20 | 1948 | 44 | 7 | _ | 1959 | 48 | 9 | _ |
Corrected Notifications
| Year | England and Wales | London | Islington |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | 23,199 | 758 | 38 |
| 1945 | 18, 596 | 801 | 45 |
| 1946 | 11,986 | 747 | 50 |
| 1947 | 5,609 | 451 | 19 |
| 1948 | 3, 575 | 335 | 7 |
| 1949 | 1,881 | 221 | 17 |
| 1950 | 962 | 81 | 19 |
| 1951 | 699 | 30 | 17 |
| 1952 | 101 | 5 | - |
| 1953 | 267 | 13 | 1 |
| 1954 | 176 | 8 | 1 |
| 1955 | 169 | 17 | 1 |
| 1956 | 63 | 11 | 2 |
| 1957 | 40 | 4 | 1 |
| 1958 | 79 | 38 | 2 |
| 1959 | 103 | 75 | 9 |
It will be seen from the above tables that both the County of London and also Islington
had more confirmed cases of diphtheris than for many years past In fact, so far as Islington
is concerned, the nine cases diagnosed in the year have not been exceeded since 1951 Fortunately
the illness was relatively mild in all concerned and none of the cases had a fatal issue All
nine patients were children of school age and between them attended five schools including one
in the Borough of Finsbury. All the cases occurred in the autumn of 1959.
Following the occurrence in the earlier part of the year of cases of diphtheria in other
parts of London, a discussion was arranged at County Hall on the initiative of the Medical Officer
of Health of the London County Council at which Medical Officers of Metropolitan Boroughs were
also present and a procedure in detail was considered and set out for operation should there be
a further occurrence of this infection. It was fortunate that this discussion and agreement took
place before there were Islington cases since it was possible to put the procedure into practice
immediately. The objective of this particular procedure was not only to detect cases of diphtheria
and deal with them as soon as symptoms occurred but to eliminate all possible sources of infection
and eradicate as far as possible the chances of others contracting the illness.