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 1948
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington, Metropolitan Borough of]
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8
Infectious disease.—The year may be regarded as a satisfactory one so far as the incidence of infectious disease
was concerned, although measles and whooping cough remained at a fairly high level.
The consistent decline in the incidence of diphtheria is indisputable evidence of the benefit of immunisation, and
for the second year in succession there has been no death from this disease.
The number of cases of infective enteritis dropped by nearly 50 per cent., but, although a welcome improvement,
the position cannot yet be regarded as satisfactory.
Only six cases of infantile paralysis (acute polio-encephalitis or polio-myelitis) were notified, none of which was
fatal.
| Disease. | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acute Encephalitis lethargica | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | (-) |
| „ Influenzal pneumonia | 22 | 8 | 11 | 29 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 18 | 8 | (8) |
| „ Primary pneumonia | 80 | 68 | 96 | 53 | 47 | 88 | 100 | 67 | 59 | (59) |
| „ Polio-encephalitis | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | — | (-) |
| „ Polio-myelitis | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 21 | 6 | (5) |
| Rheumatism | 9 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 6 | — | 9 | 6 | 4 | (4) |
| Cerebro-spinal fever | 24 | 19 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 4 | (2) |
| Continued fever | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | (-) |
| Diphtheria | 42 | 58 | 38 | 54 | 50 | 51 | 37 | 20 | 10 | (3) |
| Dysentery | 3 | 12 | 35 | 94 | 38 | 86 | 34 | 8 | 13 | (") |
| Erysipelas | 43 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 33 | 31 | 23 | 27 | 29 | (27) |
| Food poisoning or suspected food | ||||||||||
| poisoning | 6 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 17 | 16 | (16) |
| Infective enteritis or summer diarrhoea | 24 | 13 | 27 | 84 | 107 | 154 | 143 | 128 | 68 | (57) |
| Malaria | 4 | — | 3 | — | 5 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 3 | (3) |
| Measles | 253 | 301 | 707 | 592 | 174 | 1,046 | 690 | 960 | 1,027 | (1,023) |
| Membranous Croup | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | (-) |
| Ophthalmia neonatorum | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 9 | (9) |
| Puerperal fever | 23 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 1 | (1) |
| Puerperal pyrexia | 17 | 25 | 38 | 23 | 24 | 37 | 24 | 16 | 20 | (20) |
| Scabies (notifiable from 1st August, | ||||||||||
| 1943) | — | — | — | 246 | 644 | 804 | 726 | 344 | 196 | (196) |
| Scarlet fever | 56 | 61 | 110 | 312 | 137 | 126 | 228 | 129 | 147 | (134) |
| Smallpox | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | (-) |
| Typhoid or enteric fever | 5 | 9 | 1 | 3 | — | 2 | — | 3 | 2 | (2) |
| Whooping cough | 24 | 170 | 235 | 142 | 156 | 54 | 155 | 227 | 254 | (250) |
The number of notifications received is not always indicative of the incidence of infectious disease, as in many
cases diagnoses are subsequently varied. The actual number of cases, after such correction, is shown in brackets.
It is interesting to note that the total number of cases of diphtheria notified during the year was thereby reduced from
ten to three, which is even less than the weekly average in pre-immunisation days.
| Disease | Examinations | Positive Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diphtheria | 126 | (141) | — | (2) |
| Typhoid Fever | 6 | (-) | 3 | (-) |
| Scarlet Fever | 31 | (5) | 13 | (-) |
| Dysentery | 9 | (4) | 2 | (-) |
| Tuberculosis | 205 | (221) | 32 | (33) |
| 377 | (371) | 50 | (35) | |
Visiting.—The Lady Sanitary Inspectors visit cases of infectious disease, with the exceptions given below, and
following is a summary of their work in this connection.