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
London County Council 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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As a result of the examinations of the staff, 377 officers were deemed to be permanently unfit to carry out their ordinary duties in the service of the Council on the following grounds :—
| Males | Females | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardio-vascular disease | 44 | 45 | 89 |
| Diseases ot the bones and joints | 13 | 32 | 45 |
| Disability following trauma | 9 | 4 | 13 |
| Pulmonary tuberculosis | 19 | 15 | 34 |
| Diseases of the lungs other than pulmonary tuberculosis | 26 | 7 | 33 |
| Malignant disease | 5 | 8 | 13 |
| Gastro intestinal disorder | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Renal disease | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Functional nervous disorder | 25 | 30 | 55 |
| Organic nervous disorder | 10 | 3 | 13 |
| Senile decay | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Post-operative disability | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Sight or hearing defect | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| Endocrine disorder | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Varicose veins and ulceration | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Rheumatism | 2 | 15 | 17 |
| Skin disease | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Miscellaneous | 2 | 12 | 14 |
| Total | 181 | 196 | 377 |
Under the Council's scheme for providing pensions to spouses and dependants
of contributors to the superannuation and provident fund, sixteen applicants for
admission to the scheme were examined during the year, and, of these, two were
rejected on the ground that their expectation of life was deemed to be less than normal
for their age and sex.
Work done in the bacteriological laboratory at County Hall
The work undertaken in the laboratory is chiefly associated with the control
of infectious diseases in the Council's day and residential schools. In addition, a certain
amount of bacteriological investigation is carried out on material such as water,
milk, etc., submitted to the Council's chemist for analysis and on sundry material,
e.g., sputum and urine, sent for report by the Council's examining medical officer
in connection with the medical examination of employees of the Council, school
children and others.
The investigations carried out during the year 1937 are summarised below under
the various headings :—
Diphtheria investigations.—Including 155 reswabs, a total of 4,466 swab cultures
(4,431 from throat and nose, 34 from ears and 1 from eyes) were examined and yielded
4,093 negative results (including 7 from persons whose direct smear preparations
from the throat showed spirilla and B.fusiformis, organisms associated with Vincent's
angina) and 373 (8.35 per cent.) in which bacilli morphologically resembling diphtheria
were reported. Of the latter cultures 285 were submitted for animal test for
virulence, 246 (86.3 per cent.) proving virulent and 39 non-virulent. Among the
4,311 primary swabs, 299 (6.9 per cent.) proved positive, including 12 positive out
of 34 swabs from ears. In the single instance of culture from the eyes (of a child
suffering from conjunctivitis), bacilli morphologically resembling diphtheria were
isolated but proved to be non-virulent.
Ringworm and favus.—Specimens of hair from 431 children were examined on
account of suspected ringworm. In 114 cases fungus was identified, 90 being of the
small spore and 23 of the large spore variety of ringworm and 1 of favus.