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41
Ophthalmia Neonatorum.
The number of cases notified was 19, of which 16 were St. Pancras residents. All
these cases recovered satisfactorily. The remaining three cases were ex-St. Pancras residents
but were in-patients of St. Pancras hospitals when the disease occurred.
Puerperal Pyrexia and Puerperal Fever.
In 1948 there were 34 notifications of Puerperal Pyrexia and six notifications of
Puerperal Fever.
As from October, 1948, Section 50 of the London County Council (General Powers)
Act, 1948, repeals Section 304 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, which included
Puerperal Fever as a notifiable disease.
Puerperal pyrexia is defined as—
" any febrile condition occurring in a woman within twenty-one days after childbirth
or miscarriage in which a temperature of 100-4 deg. Fahrenheit (38 deg. Centigrade)
or more has been sustained during a period of twenty-four hours or has recurred
during that period."
Puerperal fever is defined as infection and fever resulting from pregnancy.
It must be noted that in the case of puerperal pyrexia the disease is notifiable no matter
what the cause of the raised temperature. Thus a woman developing a temperature of 102 deg.