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
Marylebone 1911
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]
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Of these, acute polio-encephalitis and myelitis, ophthalmia neonatorum and
chicken pox were added during 1911, the last named for a short period only.
In the case of phthisis, up till about the middle of the year notification was
compulsory only upon Poor Law Medical Officers under the Public Health
(Tuberculosis) Regulations, 1908, later, however, the Public Health (Tuberculosis
in Hospitals) Regulations, 1911, imposing the duty of notification on hospital
physicians were passed.
The only class of patient left unaffected by the compulsory system, was that
which did not resort either to the poor law or the general hospital, and in order to
obtain information regarding it, the Council continued the system of voluntary
notification which had existed for several years previously in the Borough.
In addition to these diseases, regarding which notification may or must be made,
there are certain others, viz., measles, whooping cough and diarrhœa, in respect of which
some record is kept. The records in these cases are based, chiefly, upon information
obtained as a result of investigations made by the women inspectors, but partly also
upon returns from the schools and the local registrars.
A certain amount of information with regard to the notifiable diseases will be
found in Table II of the Local Government Board series. At present it is proposed
to discuss each rather more fully.
Notifications.—The total number of notifications received during 1911 was 1272,
a figure higher by 481 than that—791—for 1910.
The greater part of the increase was due to the large number (536) of notifications
received under the Public Health (Tuberculosis) Regulations, 1908 and 1911,
although notifications of cases of scarlet fever were high also, 329, as against 207 in
1910.
The notification rate (proportion to population of notified cases of infectious
disease, including phthisis) was 10'8 per 1000.
The number of notified persons removed to one or other of the hospitals for isolation and treatment was, as usual, large, viz. :—
| Diphtheria | 121 | or | 91.0 | per cent. of the cases notified. |
| Erysipelas | 40 | or | 36.7 | |
| Scarlet Fever | 318 | or | 96.6 | |
| Enteric Fever | 11 | or | 61.1 | |
| Cerebro-Spinal Fever | 1 | or | 50.0 | |
| Puerperal Fever | 3 | or | 75.0 | |
| Phthisis | 172 | or | 32.9 | |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 2 | or | 9.5 |
The cost of carrying out the requirements of the section relating to notification of
infectious diseases for the year was £124. 3s. 9d. equal to £l. 14s. 10d. per 1,000
of the population.
The cost and rate per 1,000 for each year since 1901 are shown in the following
Table :-