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 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Table 4
Poliomyelitis cases by different types of antigen with expected number calculated from the not inoculated group according to the month of inoculation.
| Same month | In the following month | In the second month following inoculation | In the third month following inoculation | Total of the four preceding columns * | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obs. | Exptd. | Obs. | Exptd. | Obs. | Exptd. | Obs. | Exptd. | Obs. | Exptd. |
| 7 | 8 | 2.84 | — | 2.50 | — | 2.50 | 9.51 | ||
| 1.06 | 15 | 2.93 | 5 | 3.14 | 1 | 3.25 | 37 | 10.38 | |
| 1 | 0.45 | — | 0.97 | 1 | 1.05 | — | 1.10 | 2 | 3.57 |
| 4 | 0.49 | 5 | 0.96 | — | 0.99 | — | 1.09 | 9 | 3.53 |
| 13 | 0.77 | 12 | 1.49 | 3 | 1.37 | — | 1.38 | 28 | 5.01 |
| — | 0.22 | — | 0.43 | 0.48 | — | 0.49 | — | 1.62 | |
*This column shows the total experience of observed and expected cases over the same month and three months
following inoculation.
month following injection, i.e., within six weeks of injection. The proportion of observed to expected cases is summarised below :
| Period | In the same month | In the following month | In the same month and the month following together | In the same month and all the three months following inoculation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1949 | Four times | Nearly three times | Three times | Slightly less than twice. |
| July—September only | Eight times | Five times | Six times | Three times. |
| Year 1949 | Fifteen times | Five times | Eight times | Nearly four times. |
| July—September | Seventeen times Eight times | Eleven times | Five times. | |
Only with the combined antigen does the excess of expected cases in the same
month, the month following inoculation and these two together attain statistical
significance both for the year and for the three months of July, August and September;
the differences in the A.P.T. figures only attain statistical significance in the case of the
same month and the month following inoculation taken together though they should
not be ignored merely on that account.
The excess of actual over observed cases declines month by month from the time of