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
Wandsworth 1926
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wandsworth, Metropolitan Borough]
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20 Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
The Regulations require the notification of any febrile condition
occurring in a woman within 21 days after childbirth or
miscarriage in which a temperature of 100.4° or more is maintained
or recurs in 24 hours.
The notifying practitioner may ask to have a second opinion
on the case, for a special bacteriological examination to be made,
or for a nurse to be provided.
The Council appointed Mr. Leonard Phillips as obstetric
consulting surgeon under the Regulations and arranged for any
special bacteriological examinations to be carried out at the Lister
Institute. The existing nursing arrangements were extended so
as to include the nursing of cases notified under the Regulations.
The Metropolitan Asylums Board have allocated special
wards in several of their isolation hospitals for the treatment of
cases notified under these Regulations.
The following Table gives details of the cases notified under the Regulations from 1st October to 31st December:—
| Final Diagnosis. | Case notified as:— | Recovered. | Died. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puerperal Fever. | Puerperal Pyrexia. | |||
| Puerperal Septicaemia | 2 | — | — | 2 |
| "Puerperal Fever " | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Sapraemia | 3 | 4 | 7 | — |
| Salpingitis | 1 | 1 | 2 | — |
| Phlebitis and Lymphangitis | 1 | 3 | 4 | — |
| Urinary infections | — | 2 | 2 | — |
| Pyrexia of unknown origin | — | 3 | 3 | — |
| Total | 8 | 13 | 19 | 2 |
During the whole year there were 17 cases of Puerperal Fever
and five deaths. The death-rate was .01 per 1,000 and the case
mortality 29 per cent. 14 of the 17 cases were removed to hospital.
13 cases of Puerperal Pyrexia were also notified.