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 1948
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
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Cases Notified.
| Disease. | Notifications | Comparable totals for 1947 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 | 1 and over | Total for 1948 | ||
| Acute influenzal and primary pneumonia | 4 | 83 | 87 | 97 |
| Anterior poliomyelitis and polioencephalitis | 7 | 7 | 36 | |
| Cerebro spinal meningitis | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| Diphtheria and membranous croup | 3 | 34 | 37 | 41 |
| Dysentery | 6 | 64 | 70 | 24 |
| Enteric or typhoid fever | — | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Erysipelas | 1 | 45 | 46 | 38 |
| Food poisoning | — | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Malaria | — | — | — | 1 |
| Measles | 69 | 1,292 | 1,361 | 902 |
| Ophthalmia neonatorum | 19 | — | 19 | 23 |
| Puerperal fever | — | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Puerperal pyrexia | — | 34 | 34 | 35 |
| Scabies | 3 | 135 | 138 | 300 |
| Scarlatina or scarlet fever | 1 | 131 | 132 | 124 |
| Whooping cough | 36 | 327 | 363 | 484 |
It was subsequently ascertained that the following notifications which are included in the preceding table, were not regarded as cases of the disease as originally diagnosed:—
| Disease. | Under 1 | Over 1 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anterior poliomyelitis | — | 2 | 2 |
| Cerebro-spinal meningitis | — | 1 | 1 |
| Diphtheria and membranous croup | 3 | 17 | 20 |
| Dysentery | — | 2 | 2 |
| Erysipelas | — | 2 | 2 |
| Measles | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Scarlatina or scarlet fever | — | 10 | 10 |
| Whooping cough | 3 | 2 | 5 |
Pneumonia.
This disease is a frequent complication of other diseases, such as Measles. When it
occurs in that manner it is not notifiable.
The notifiable forms of Pneumonia are Acute Primary and Acute Influenzal. There were
68 notifications of the former and 19 of the latter during 1948 (as compared with 62 and 35
respectively for 1947).
Anterior Poliomyelitis and Polioencephalitis
There were 15 actual cases of anterior poliomyelitis in St. Pancras during 1947, the year
when England had one of its most serious outbreaks of this disease. During 1948 seven cases
were notified, but in two cases the diagnosis was not confirmed.
(6594) c 3