London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Poplar 1940
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Poplar, Metropolitan Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
-4-
HOUSING.
The Housing Inspectors, like the District Sanitary Inspectors
were assigned to duties in connection with the Casualty Services and
when not so engaged deputised for the District Inspectors.
INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF FOOD.
The Meat and Food Inspectors made 3,274 inspections of
premises where food is prepared, stored or sold.
REPORT OF THE PUBLIC ANALYSTS.
The number of samples examined was 665 and the number
adulterated was 30, a percentage of 4.5. The averages for the ten
years 1931-1940 were 776 and 4.4 respectively.
PREVALENCE OF AND CONTROL OVER INFECTIOUS AND OTHER DISEASES.
The incidence of infectious disease was much below normal.
Notifications (corrected for "altered diagnosis" cases) received during the year.
| Cases. | Deaths. | |
|---|---|---|
| Scarlet fever | 53 | - |
| Diphtheria | 76 | 7 |
| Typhoid and paratyphoid fevers | 8 | - |
| Erysipelas | 49 | 2 |
| Puerperal fever | 10 | 1 |
| Puerperal pyrexia | 20 | - |
| Cerebrospinal fever | 32 | 2 |
| Ophthalmia neonatorum | 3 | - |
| Measles | 60 | - |
| Whooping cough | 9 | - |
| Primary pneumonia | 132 | 29x |
| Influenzal pneumonia | 17 | 3x |
| Dysentery | - | 1@ |
| Zymotic enteritis | 19 | 3 |
| Acute poliomyelitis | - | 1ø |
| 488 |
x - notified patients only. @ - not notified, inmate of
Mental Hospital outside London. ø - notified before 1940
TUBERCULOSIS. The Tuberculosis Dispensary sessions wero discontinued
on account of enemy action in September 1940 but were
resumed in part during March 1941.
The number of new cases notified and of deaths during the year were as fallows:-
| New cases. | Deaths. | |
|---|---|---|
| Pulmonary | 175 | 109 |
| Non-pulmonary | 27 | 13 |
Death rates per 1,000 population:-
| Pulmonary | 1.12 |
| Other forms | 0.13 |
| Total | 1.25 |