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
St Pancras 1920
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
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into four groups, viz.:—those taken (l) from farmers' deliveries at railway stations; (2) at
dairies where pasteurisation is carried out; (3) as produced in cowsheds in the Borough; and
(4) when exposed for sale in milk shops (both "dairy shops" and general shops) or on street
rounds. In certain cases the milk was sampled at successive stages, e.g., at the railway
station, in the wholesaler's premises, and in the hands of the retailer.
Dr. Teale's Report.
Report on the examination of 50 specimens of milk carried out for the St. Pancras
Borough Council at the request of Dr. Higgins, Medical Officer of Health.
The specimens were collected in sterile bottles and transported to the laboratory in an
ice chest. The specimens were examined directly after arrival.
The examinations were conducted in the ordinary way for the presence of B. Coli, etc.
For the counting of the number of colonies plates were made with 1/100, 1/1000,
1/10,000 and 1/100,000 ccm. of the milks.
In some cases the numbers with the smallest dilution wore too large to count and so
have been entered up as innumberable.
The cases where tubercle bacilli were found were further investigated to see whether
these bacteria were of bovine or human origin. This was a lengthy process and greatly added
to the time taken in the examination, necessitating a period of nearly six months.
Table I.
| Date of Sampling, 1920. | No. of Specimen. | b. Coli per ccm. | Spore-bearing Anaerobes present. | Colonies ' growing at 37 deg. C per ccm. | Colonies growing at 22 deg. C per ccm. | Streptococci per ccm. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 24th | l | 1,000,000 | Absent in 50 ccm. | 8,000 | 5,000 | 540 |
| „ | 2 | 1,000 | Do. | 1,200 | 1,000 | 420 |
| „ | 3 | 100,000 | Present in 50 ccm. | 130,000 | Innumerable | 15,000 |
| „ | 4 | 1,000,000 | Present in 10 ccm. | 1,030,000 | Do. | 140,000 |
| „ | 5 | 1,000 | Absent in 50 ccm. | 16,000 | Do. | 1,800 |
| „ | 6 | 10,000 | Do. | 16,000 | 10,000 | 22,000 |
| Mar. 2nd | 9 | 100,000 | Present in 5 ccm. | 118,000 | Innumerable | Innumerable |
| „ | 10 | 10,000 | Do. | 12,000 | Do. | 1,800 |
| Mar. 2nd | 11 | 100 | Absent in 50 ccm. | 6,100 | 10,200 | 1,700 |
| „ | 12 | 1,000,000 | Present in 10 ccm. | 1,480,000 | 331,000 | 510,000 |
| „ | 13 | 1,000 | Present in 25 ccm. | 5,000 | 46,300 | 4,800 |