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
Paddington 1928
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington, Metropolitan Borough of]
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15
Seasonal prevalence.—The following table shows the numbers of cases notified in each fourweekly
period during 1928.
Four-Weekly Periods.
| Period No. 1. | Period No. 2. | Period No. 3. | Period No. 4. | Period No. 5. | Period No. 6. | Period No. 7. | Period No. 8. | Period No. 9. | Period No. 10. | Period No. 11. | Period No. 12. | Period No. 13 | Totals. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | |||||||||||||
| — | — | |||||||||||||
| — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| — | ||||||||||||||
| — | ||||||||||||||
| _ | _ | _ | _ | — | — | _ | ||||||||
| — | — | — | —_ | _ | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
Diphtheria Carriers.—There is a clinic for diphtheria carriers held at St. Mary's Hospital,
but only a small number of cases attend during the course of a year. These are mostly
contacts of acute diphtheria cases sent for treatment by medical practitioners.
Anti-Diphtheritic Serum.—This is stocked at the Town Hall and supplied to medical
practitioners on request for the use of patients who are too poor to obtain such serum
privately. During the year 20 phials of 4,000 units and 11 phials of 500 units were distributed.
SMALLPOX.
Five cases of this disease were notified during the year. Of these one proved to be a
mistaken diagnosis. The remaining four occurred in Paddington Infirmary. One case
(D.T.) contracted the infection in Yorkshire. Another case (D. W.) was a tramp and brought
the infection with him from some unknown source. He infected in the Infirmary another
man (J. B.). Subsequently a further case arose in the Infirmary, the source of infection
not being ascertained. All four cases were of the mild type of smallpox prevalent at the
present time. The disease might have been expected to have spread through the Infirmary
under the circumstances, but in each case measures to combat the disease by vaccination
of contacts and isolation of wards were energetically pursued. The authorities at the
Infirmary are to be congratulated on the success which followed their efforts to prevent the
disease from spreading.
During the year all vaccinations of smallpox contacts were performed by the public
vaccinator. None were performed by the Medical Officer of Health under the Public Health
(Smallpox Prevention) Regulations, 1917.
CHICKEN-POX.
Chicken-pox has been notifiable in Paddington since November 28th, 1922, but the sections
of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, dealing with disinfection, exposure to infection, etc.,
are not in force as regards this disease.
Chicken-pox does not vary very much in its prevalence from year to year. The number
of cases certified by medical practitioners was 567 last year and there were 354 cases reported
from other sources, making a total of 921 cases. The disease was fairly uniformly distributed
throughout the year with occasional localised outbreaks and a rather intensified prevalence
during the last quarter of the year.
Chicken-pox is not usually nursed in an institution, but 41 cases received institutional
treatment for various reasons.