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
City of Westminster 1959
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
This page requires JavaScript
NOTIFICATIONS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE
| Disease | Notifications | Removed to Hospital | Diagnosis not Confirmed | Diagnosis Established |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dysentery | 21 | 13 | — | 21 |
| Encephalitis | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Erysipelas | 2 | — | — | 2 |
| Food Poisoning | 15 | 5 | 1 | 14 |
| Measles | 442 | 16 | — | 442 |
| Meningococcal Infection | 1 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 2 | 2 | — | 2 |
| Paratyphoid Fever | 2 | 2 | — | 2 |
| Pneumonia— | ||||
| Acute Primary | 9 | 3 | — | 9 |
| Influenzal | 10 | 2 | — | 10 |
| Poliomyelitis— | ||||
| Paralytic | 1 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Non-Paralytic | — | — | — | — |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 26 | 24 | — | 26 |
| Scabies | 9 | — | — | 9 |
| Scarlet Fever | 30 | 5 | 1 | 29 |
| Typhoid Fever | 3 | 3 | — | 3 |
| Whooping Cough | 14 | 1 | — | 14 |
Smallpox
No case of smallpox occurred in the City during 1959. There were as
usual numerous cases of persons who had been in contact with smallpox—
in most cases outside this country. The necessary preventive measures
were taken.
Poliomyelitis
Only one notification of Acute Poliomyelitis (Paralytic) was received
during the year, a non-immunised girl of fourteen months.
Immunisation against poliomyelitis was begun in 1956. The number
of corrected notifications of poliomyelitis, including polio-encephalitis,
for each year since 1947 are given below. It will be seen that the numbers
vary greatly and it is not yet possible to attribute the paucity of cases
during the past few years to the effects of immunisation:—
1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
21 16 29 13 1 10 9 4 15 7 5 | 1 1