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 1970
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wandsworth, Metropolitan Borough]
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The work done at the two bathing centres in the Borough in connection with vermin, scabies and impetigo is shown in the following table. A "case" is a child discharged after a course of treatment (e.g. a child attending three courses of treatment during the year counts as three cases). These figures include not only schoolchildren referred after a health survey, but also those attending on their own initiative.
| Cases treated | 292 | |
| Total Attendences | 338 | |
| Cases treated | 89 | |
| Total attendances | 169 | |
| Cases treated | Nil | |
| Beta haemolytic streptococcus | 2 |
| Bladder infection | |
| Cerebro-spinal meningitis | — |
| Chicken-pox | 499 |
| Dysentery, diarrhoea or enteritis | 91 |
| Food poisoning | |
| German measles | 85 |
| Glandular fever | |
| Impetigo | 28 |
| Influenza | 5 |
| Jaundice | 40 |
| Measles | 456 |
| Mumps | 336 |
| Ophthalmia and conjunctivitis | 9 |
| Pneumonia | 1 |
| Pulmonary tuberculosis | |
| Ringworm (body) | 9 |
| Ringworm (scalp) | 3 |
| Scabies | 22 |
| Scarlet fever | 19 |
| Sore throat | 10 |
| Tonsillitis | 36 |
| Whooping cough | 59 |
A close watch is maintained on the incidence of infectious
disease in schools and in this context I am indebted to the teaching
staff for supplying early information about illness in the
schools, and to the general practitioners, medical officers, public
health inspectors and health visitors for co-ordinating the investigation
and management of cases and contacts.