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 1942
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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| 1942 | 1941 | |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths—Poliomyelitis and polioencephalitis | 3 | 9 |
| Puerperal fever | 46 | 40 |
| „ „ per 1,000 live births | 1.13 | 1.47 |
| Other puerperal causes | 56 | 43 |
| „ „ per 1,000 live births | 1.38 | 1.58 |
| Total maternal mortality | 2.51 | 3.05 |
| Rheumatic fever | 29 | 40 |
| „ „ (0-15) | 5 | 1 |
| Scarlet fever | 1 | 2 |
| „ „ crude case mortality percentage | 0.02 | 0.08 |
| Street accidents | 286 | 373 |
| Whooping-cough | 101 | 111 |
Infectious
diseases
Infectious disease notifications (civilians only) are shown below:—
| 1942 (52 weeks) | 1941 (53 weeks) | |
|---|---|---|
| Anthrax | 1 | 1 |
| Cerebro-spinal fever | 341 | 706 |
| Continued fever | 1 | 2 |
| Diphtheria | 1,813 | 2,179 |
| Dysentery | 749 | 610 |
| Encephalitis lethargica | 3 | 10 |
| Enteric fever | 67 | 210 |
| Erysipelas | 1,034 | 1,171 |
| Malaria | 16 | 13 |
| Measles | 19,987 | 11,039 |
| Ophthalmia neonatorum | 210 | 185 |
| Pneumonia (acute, primary and influenzal) | 2,246 | 2,518 |
| Poliomyelitis and polioencephalitis | 25 | 41 |
| Puerperal fever | 110 | 94 |
| „ pyrexia | 505 | 340 |
| Relapsing fever | — | 1 |
| Scarlet fever | 4,416 | 2,372 |
| Whooping-cough | 6,234 | 7,944 |
Smallpox
There were two notifications of smallpox, only one of which was confirmed,
none of typhus fever during 1942, and none for either disease in 1941.
Diarrhœa
and enteritis
Diarrhœa and enteritis caused 324 deaths, compared with 172 in 1941, among
children under two years of age, or 8.0 per thousand five births.
The death-rates from these causes per 1,000 live births in London and England and Wales in recent years are shown in the following table:—
| 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 9.71 | 12.55 | 11.74 | 12.80 | 11.31 | 14.47 | 12.29 | 13.23 | 8.36 | 6.13 | 6.30 | 7.97 |
| England and Wales | 5.90 | 6.60 | 6.98 | 5.36 | 5.56 | 5.75 | 5.54 | 5.30 | 4.60 | 4.76 | 5.08 | 5.22 |
Tuberculosis
Particulars in regard to tuberculosis are given below (the figures for 1941 being shown in brackets):—
| Pulmonary | Non-pulmonary | |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 2,164 (2 552) | 283 (343) |
| Primary notifications | 4,734 (4,577) | 796 (675) |
| Cases on the registers of the metropolitan boroughs (including City of London) at end of 1942:— | ||
| Males | 12,894 (12,677) | 2,785 (2,916) |
| Females | 9,441 (9,119) | 2,963 (3,044) |
| Total on registers | 22,335 (21,796) | 5,748 (5,960) |
When the population at risk is taken into account there is reason to believe
that the sharp upward trend in the rate of occurrence of new cases of tuberculosis
which occurred in 1941 was considerably retarded in 1942. Mortality was much
reduced.