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
Lambeth 1957
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lambeth Borough]
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| Completed cases | Welfare Centres and Nurseries | Genera] Practitioners | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5 years | 5 - 14 years | Under 5 years | 5 - 14 years | ||
| Diphtheria prophylaxis only | 117 | 69 | 82 | 11 | 279 |
| Combined antigen-Diphtheria and Whooping Cough | 1,217 | 22 | 290 | 13 | 1,542 |
| Triple antigen-Diphtheria, Whooping Cough and Tetanus | 957 | 6 | 178 | 10 | 1,151 |
| Diphtheria Boosting doses - all ages | 712 | 218 | 930 | ||
| Whooping Cough - all ages only (completed cases) | 23 | 39 | 62 | ||
Smallpox
There were no cases of this disease in the Borough during the
year, but in May an incident occurred which showed how easily the
infection might have been introduced.
A message was received from the Medical Officer of Health of
another Metropolitan Borough to the effect that he had received
notification that a German business man who had stayed in his
area about a fortnight before had been diagnosed as suffering from
smallpox on arrival in Hamburg. The sheets from his bed had been
washed at a Lambeth laundry.
A visit to the laundry elicited the information that only
three persons handled the laundry before washing. As the time had
already passed when vaccination would have been effective it was
decided to keep an unobtrusive watch on the three persons concerned
until the recognised period of surveillance had expired.
Fortunately no signs of infection developed.