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 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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24
1951 represents the rising and falling stages of one continuous epidemic with its peak
at the turn of the year. During 1951 there were 21 deaths giving a death-rate of
0-006 per 1,000 (crude case mortality 0.20 per cent.). The corresponding rates for
1950 were 0.009 per 1,000 and 0.28 per cent. It is seen from Table 3 that the fatality
from this disease which has been declining since the end of the last century has
fallen with dramatic rapidity in more recent times.
The relative importance of school, home arid other forms of contact in the spread of
whooping cough
An investigation was carried out with the assistance of health visitors in Division
9 to estimate the relative importance of school contact, home contact, and other
forms of contact in the spread of whooping cough.
The sample investigated included 272 children in three age groups (Table A).
Table A
| Age | Total | July-Dec. 1950 | Jan.-July 1951 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 162 60% | 92 57% | 70 63% |
| 5-14 | 104 38% | 65 40% | 39 35% |
| over 15 | 6 2% | 4 3% | 2 2% |
| Total | 272 | 161 | 111 |
| 0-4 | 65% | 63% | 67% |
| 5-14 | 33% | 35% | 31% |
| over 15 | 1% | 1% | 2% |
Table B School Infection
| Age | Patient at infected school | Sibling at infected school | Total possible attributable to school | All cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 2 | 37 | 39 24% | 162 |
| 5-14 | 61 | 10 | 71 68% | 104 |
| over 15 | 1 | — | 1 | 6 |
| Age | Patient at infected school | Sibling at infected school develop'd wh.c. | Total attributable to school | All cases |
| 0-4 | 2 | 13 | 15 9% | 162 |
| 5-14 | 61 | 3 | 64 61% | 104 |
| 0-4 July-December, 1950 | 8% | |||
| 0-4 January-July, 1951 | 11% | |||
| 5-14 July-December, 1950 | 58% | |||
| 5-14 January-July, 1951 | 66% | |||
Compared with the total notifications from the whole of London during the same
period the sample contained a slightly smaller proportion of children under five.
The percentage of under-fives was higher in the latter half of the epidemic than in
the first half, and this was found in both the total notifications and the sample.
Table B shows the possible effect of school contact in the infection of the
cases in the sample. If transmission of infection from school to home by healthy
intermediaries were excluded it would be seen that school infection could not have
been responsible for more than 9 per cent. of the cases in children under the age of