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
Lewisham 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham Borough]
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INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
The following table shows the incidence of notifiable infectious disease during the year, and in the two preceding years:—
| Disease. | Year. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | 1936 | 937 | |
| Scarlet Fever | 830 | 868 | 634 |
| Diphtheria | 314 | 247 | 328 |
| Typhoid Fever | 5 | 6 | 13 |
| Paratyphoid Fever | 17 | 6 | 6 |
| Puerperal Fever | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 32 | 35 | 42 |
| Erysipelas | 68 | 92 | 95 |
| Pneumonia | 184 | 200 | 240 |
| Cerebro-spinal Meningitis | 6 | 9 | 7 |
| Polio Myelitis | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| Encephalitic Lethargica | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Malaria | – | 2 | 3 |
| Dysentery | – | – | 97 |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 4 | 18 | 15 |
It will be seen from the above that the incidence of Scarlet
Fever was less than the preceding year, while Diphtheria showed a
slight increase. In five of the thirteen cases of Typhoid Fever
notified, the diagnosis was not confirmed at the hospital, and two of
the six paratyphoid cases were also not diagnosed as such.
During the latter part of the year, 97 cases of Sonne Dysentery
were notified. There were no fatal cases.
The disease was prevalent throughout the Metropolis and the
Home Counties, and the cause of the prevalence in this Borough
was not ascertained.
Details of the age groups of patients, and of the fatal cases, are
given in the two following tables:—