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 St. Pancras, London, Borough of]
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desirable to limit the admission to children of school age and under, but as
99'5 per cent, of the deaths from measles occur at these ages, this limitation is
by the nature of the disease already imposed. As a matter of fact, of the
mortality from measles, about 20 per cent, occurs under one year, about 40
per cent, from one to two years, 20 per cent, from two to three, 10 per cent,
from three to four, and 5 per cent, from four to five years ; that is to say,
nearly 95 per cent, under five years of age, and considerably under 1 per cent,
over ten years of age. Limitation as to age is unnecessary so far as the higher
ages are concerned, and is undesirable so far as the lower ages are concerned,
because in a family the younger children are just as likely to spread the
disease as older children.
Selection would be the best method of limiting the number of cases, and
this might be carried out by requiring every application for the admission of
a case of measles to be accompanied by a statement of (1) the number of
rooms in the dwelling occupied by the family, and (2) the number of children
under ten years in the family (it is important that the age should be ten
years, because this age fits in with Vital Statistics, Bye-laws, Inspections,
Sanitary Requirements, etc., of the Authority). From these statements
priority of admission could be given to children from the smallest dwellings
and from the largest families.
ISOLATION.
The cases of Notifiable Infectious Diseases removed to hospital, and the Sub-Districts whence they were removed, are recorded in the following table:—
Diseases. | Regent's Park, | Tottenham Court. | Gray's Inn Lane. | Somers Town. | Camden Town. | Kentish Town. | Totals. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Small-pox | 4 | .. | .. | .. | l | 2 | 7 |
Scarlatina and ScarletFever | 96 | 75 | 87 | 115 | 85 | 119 | 577 |
Diphtheria | 72 | 48 | 46 | 71 | 88 | 187 | 512 |
Membranous Croup | |||||||
Typhus Fever | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
Typhoid or Enteric Fever | 46 | 41 | 23 | 64 | 21 | 91 | 286 |
Continued Fever | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
Relapsing Fever | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |
Puerperal Fever | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | 1 | 2 |
Cholera | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
Erysipelas | 6 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 35 |
Plague | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
Totals | 224 | 167 | 160 | 261 | 200 | 407 | 1419 |
The number of cases of Notifiable Infectious Diseases removed to hospital in
each week of the year, were as stated in the attached table.