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
Hornsey 1928
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hornsey, Borough of]
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— 21 —
Prosecutions 1
Convictions 1
INFECTIOUS DISEASE.
Scarlet fever and diphtheria.—Scarlet fever sliowed a much
higher incidence in 1928 than in 1927—the number of notifications
being 328 as compared with 179. One hundred and four
notifications of diphtheria were received (92 in 1927). Seventythree
per cent, of the cases of scarlet fever and ninety-seven percent.
of the cases of diphtheria were removed to hospital. The
former disease caused two deaths and the latter six. Scarlet
fever still continues to be of a mild type, and the policy of
removing to hospital large numbers of the sufferers is of doubtful
public health value; many cases could quite well be nursed at
home and more accommodation in hospital would thus become
available for severe cases of measles and of whooping cough.
The following table shows the incidence of infecting cases discharged from the Isolation Hospital since 1921: —
| YEAR. | SCARLF.T FEVER. | Persons Infected "Return Cases' | Infecting Cases. | Percentage of infecting cases. | DIPHTHERIA. | Persons Infected ''Return Cases" | Infecting Cases. | Percentage of infecting cases. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 571 | 14 | 12 | 2.1 | 189 | 2 | 1 | 0.53 |
| 1922 | 201 | 10 | 7 | 3.43 | 103 | — | — | — |
| 1923 | 100 | 5 | 5 | 5.0 | 113 | — | — | — |
| 1924 | 159 | 14* | 7 | 4.4 | 33 | — | — | — |
| 1925 | 77 | 1 | 1 | 1.3 | 43 | — | — | — |
| 1926 | 89 | 4 | 2 | 2.2 | 101 | — | — | — |
| 1927 | 131 | 5 | 4 | 3.0 | 81 | — | — | — |
| 1928 | 328 | 8 | 7 | 2.1 | 104 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
* Including two cases belonging to other hospitals.
Return cases mean cases occurring in the same house
or elsewhere and apparently traceable to the person released,
within a period of not less than twenty-four hours or not more
than twenty-eight days after his return or release from isolation.
The Medical Officer of Health visits all households where
"return" cases of scarlet fever or of diphtheria have occurred,