London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Paddington 1908

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington, Metropolitan Borough of]

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90
INFANTILE DIARRHOEA.
The adjusted figures are therefore:—
51 specimens from " patients," 38 from " controls," and 2 from " uncertain. '
The " Morgan No. 1 " bacillus was found in:—
17 " diarrhoea " specimens, or 33.3 per cent., and
7 " controls" „ 18.4 ,,
Of the five " control " homes yielding infected flies one only, or possibly two, can be
properly so designated. At one of the latter, the " control " child, although the bacillus was
found in the faeces, remained quite well, and no cases were known in the other residents of
the house. In the other case, the " house " consists of a number of self-contained workmen's
dwellings. The flies were taken from Flat No. 9, where no diarrhoea is known to have
occurred, but 5 cases of diarrhoea occurred some two months prior to the taking of the flies,
etc., in Flat No. 10.
As regards the remaining 3 "control" homes furnishing infected flies, later enquiries
brought to light the following information:—
Home " A."—Flies caught August 12th.
Cases of diarrhœa in other families in the house on August 7th and 15th. The bacillus
" No. 1 " was not isolated Irom the fceces of the " control " child, but the child had diarrhœa
in October.
Home " B."—Flies caught August 23rd.
A case of diarrhœa occurred in another family in the house on August 4th.
Home " C."—Flies caught August 26th.
A case of diarrhoea in a child over 2 years of age (another family) on August 21st.
Special Preparations.—The formulas of the preparations of milk, etc., provided by the
Health Society are given at the end of this report. The preparations were supplied to orders
by the medical practitioners attending the patients, 207 orders being issued, 85 by the Staff of
St. Mary's Hospital, 25 by that of the Children's Hospital, 70 by the Poor Law Medical
Officers, and 23 by the physicians at the Consultation Centres. The children thus treated
numbered 83, but 2 were over 2 years of age (and therefore not included in this Report), and
2 others were not suffering from diarrhœa. Of the five preparations, No. 2 was most used
(103 orders), and No. 4 least (5 orders.)
The fatality among the 79 children under 2 years old was 3.8 per cent., if deaths from
diarrhoea only be counted, 10*1 per cent, if deaths from " other causes " be included. The
corresponding figures for the whole group of diarrhœa cases were 3*6 and 6'8 per cent,
respectively, so that the fatality was higher among the " depot children " than " all children." *
That higher fatality can be accounted for, two causes being operative. It has already been
pointed out that the disease is more fatal to very young children, and also to those fed
otherwise than by the breast. Both of those less hopeful classes formed larger proportions of
the " depot children " than of " all children." The age-compositions of the two groups is
given below:—
Months. Years.
Percentages of children at ages of 0— 3— 6— 9— 1—2
» " Depot children" 18.9 18.9 4.3 14.4 43.4
" All children" 10.0 16.1 10.0 19.7 43.9
X. * " Depot children " are those treated with the special preparations ; "all children " the 248 reported cases.
The latter includes the former.