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 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham Borough]
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54
SECTION " F" — PREVALENCE OF and CONTROL OVER
INFECTIOUS AND OTHER DISEASES
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
The undermentioned diseases are notifiable by Medical Practitioners to the
Medical Officer of Health:—
Anthrax
Cholera
Continued fever
Diphtheria
Dysentery (bacillary or amoebic)
Encephalitis, acute
Enteric fever
Erysipelas
Food poisoning
Glanders
Hydrophobia
Malaria
Measles
Membranous croup
Meningococcal infection
Ophthalmia neonatorum
Plague
Pneumonia, acute influenzal
Pneumonia, acute primary
Poliomyelitis, acute
Puerperal pyrexia
Relapsing fever
Scabies
Scarlet fever
Smallpox
Tuberculosis, all forms
Typhoid fever, including paratyphoid
Typhus fever
Whooping cough
PRINCIPAL NOTIFIABLE DISEASES
Number of Notified Cases (corrected for revised diagnosis) during
the year 1951 with comparative figures for the previous six vears.
Table 39
| Diseases | Number of cases notified | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 1950 | 1949 | 1948 | 1947 | 1946 | 1945 | |
| Anthrax | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Continued and relapsing fever | - | - | — | - | - | - | 1 |
| Diphtheria | - | - | 3 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 24 |
| Dysentery | 365 | 63 | 9 | 24 | 26 | 57 | 31 |
| Encephalitis (acute) | 5 | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | - |
| Enteric or typhoid fever | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — |
| Erysipelas | 24 | 41 | 35 | 33 | 45 | 34 | 50 |
| Food poisoning | 26 | 38 | 50 | 12 | 3 | 1 | — |
| Hydrophobia | — | - | - | - | - | 1 | — |
| Malaria | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 15 | — |
| Measles | 3546 | 2,084 | 1,940 | 2,642 | 810 | 1,307 | 462 |
| Meningococcal infection | 6 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 19 | 11 | 3 |
| Ophthalmia neonatorum | 3 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 1 |
| Pneumonia | 173 | 108 | 84 | 67 | 104 | 108 | 71 |
| Poliomyelitis (acute) and polioencephalitis | 11 | 38 | 35 | 9 | 72 | - | 5 |
| Puerperal pyrexia | 63 | 29 | 27 | 50 | 43 | 32 | 25 |
| Scabies | 21 | 22 | 29 | 54 | 122 | 348 | 566 |
| Scarlet fever | 215 | 358 | 521 | 332 | 254 | 155 | 197 |
| Smallpox | _- | - | - | - | 1 | — | — |
| Tuberculosis | 299 | 406 | 371 | 502 | 426 | 437 | 371 |
| Whooping cough | 819 | 813 | 363 | 789 | 362 | 291 | 238 |
| TOTALS | 5,581 | 3,608 | 3,109 | 4,035 | 1,887 | 2,375 | 1,674 |
For comments on the incidence of certain of these diseases, see
the paragraph on infectious diseases in the introduction of the report
(page 4).