Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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Notifications of Infectious Disease
Diphtheria | - | - | - | - |
Dysentery | 75 | 14 | 1 | 74 |
Erysipelas | 3 | 3 | - | 3 |
Food Poisoning | 22 | 14 | 1 | 21 |
Malaria (contracted abroad) | 2 | - | - | 2 |
Measles | 472 | 11 | - | 472 |
Pneumonia— Acute Primary | 9 | 3 | - | 9 |
Influenzal | - | - | - | - |
Paratyphoid Fever | 1 | 1 | - | 1 |
Poliomyelitis— Paralytic | - | - | - | - |
Non-Paralytic | - | - | - | - |
Puerperal Pyrexia | 2 | 2 | - | 2 |
Scabies | 3 | - | - | 3 |
Scarlet Fever | 13 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
Typhoid Fever | 1 | 1 | - | 1 |
Whooping Cough | 28 | 3 | - | 28 |
Measles
Measles follows a well-established pattern, reaching epidemic proportions
every other year. It is of interest to note that 472 notifications of
measles were received in 1963, compared with 90 in 1962 and 795 in 1961.
Only 11 patients were removed to hospital in 1963, and there were,
fortunately, no deaths from this disease.
Dysentery
Seventy-five notifications of dysentery were received during 1963,
compared with 22 in the previous year.
Whilst the majority were single unconnected cases, ten notifications
related to a minor outbreak of the disease which occurred in young
children living in one block of dwellings in Westminster.
Poliomyelitis
For the third consecutive year, no case of poliomyelitis occurred in
Westminster. The number of corrected notifications of poliomyelitis,
including polio-encephalitis, for each year since 1947 is given below.
Immunisation against poliomyelitis began in 1956:—
1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963
21 16 29 13 1 10 9 4 15 7 5 1 1 l l— — —
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