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
Tower Hamlets 1968
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Tower Hamlets, London Borough]
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| Area of Residence | Syphi1 is | Gonorrhoea | Other Conditions | Total | (1967) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tower Hamlets | 95 | 548 | 2,125 | 2,768 | (2,951) |
| Other London Boroughs | 114 | 917 | 4,177 | 5,208 | (4,502) |
| Other Areas | 19 | 135 | 984 | 1,138 | (924) |
| 228 | 1,600 | 7,286 | 9,114 | (8,377) |
Two welfare officers appointed by the Council work from the Whitechapel Clinic under the
direction of Dr. E.M.C. Dunlop, M.D..M.R.C.P., Medical Director of the Clinic, for tracing
contacts and following up defaulters.
Dr. Dunlop reports as follows:-
''We dealt with 228 new cases of syphilis in 1968 compared with 172 in 1967, with
1,600 new cases of gonorrhoea compared with 1,671 and with 7,286 cases of other conditions
compared with 6,486.
The highest total for new cases (2,768) was for Tower Hamlets but this total has
decreased from that for 1967 which was 2,951. The figures for Tower Hamlets included 95
cases of syphilis, compared with 86 for 1967. There were 548 cases of gonorrhoea compared
with 722.
It is gratifying that the number of cases of gonorrhoea has declined in this year.
An important factor in this decline must be the activity of our Welfare Officers in
tracing contacts of infectious disease.
A summary of the results of contact tracing in early syphilis is given in Table A.
| Year | Total | A11ended | Infected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 55 | 10 (18.2%) | 9 (90.0%) |
| 1967 | 27 | 4 (14.8%) | 4 (100% ) |
| 1968 | 27 | 8 (29.6%) | 8 (100% ) |
| Other contacts: 1966 - 2. 1967 - 3. 1968 - 20. | |||
Of 27 alleged sources of infection with early syphilis eight (29.6%) attended and all
were found to be infected. Of 20 other contacts of early syphilis who attended six (30%)
were found to be infected
A summary of the results of contact tracing in gonorrhoea is given in Table B.
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