London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Marylebone 1929

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]

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34
The cost of carrying- out the requirements of the Public Health (London) Act,
1891, and the various regulations with regard to notification was £55 4s. Od.,
equal to 10s. 9d. per 1,000 of the population.

The cost and rate per 1,000 for each of the past 10 years are shown in following table:—

YearAmounts paid to Medical PractitionersCost per 1,000 of Population
£s.d.£s.d.
192088260173
192182100157
1922895901611
19234076078
192449140095
19254840091
19264916098
1927511400100
19285616001011
192955400109

Discharge Notices.—The number of certificates received from the Metropolitan
Asylums Board regarding the return of patients sent to hospital with
infectious diseases was 483, and referred to 985 cases. Visits were paid to these
cases by the District Inspectors, and advice given as to date of the return of
children to school and the advisability of obtaining treatment for and isolation
of any suffering from any sequel of a disease.
Diphtheria and Membranous Croup.
The number of cases notified was 180, the number in 1928 being- 177. Of
the cases 2 died, and the case mortality rate was 1.1 per cent.
The number of cases per thousand of the population was 1.8.
The cases were more or less evenly distributed, as usual, throughout the
borough, and only in a few instances was it possible to determine accurately the
source of infection. In 5 cases the source appeared to be a member of the family
previously infected ; in 4 cases infection was counted to have been acquired in
school, and in 23 cases in an institution.
The number of swabs from doubtful cases submitted for bacteriological
examination was 2,408. A positive result was returned in 121 instances.
Of the registration districts Christ Church which since in it there are more
children than in the others, in general contributes the largest number of cases, in
1929 took third place with 46 cases. All Souls, largely on account of an outbreak
in the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Great Portland Street ,heads the
list with 56 cases and is followed by St. Mary with 50. In St. John the number
was 25.
As usual, the age groups 1—5 and 5—15 were those most affected, 48 of the
cases falling into the former and 80 into the latter group.
No applications for a free supply of antitoxin under the Diphtheria Antitoxin
(London) Order, 1910, were received.
The nuisances detected during the course of investigating the notified cases
were: Dirty Premises, etc., 24. These were all remedied after service of notices.
The Schick Testing and Diphtheria Immunization Clinic opened at the beginning
of 1928, continued to operate at the Lissonia Centre throughout the year,
the work being in the hands of Dr. Margaret Emslie. In the main the children
dealt with were those attending the Welfare Centre. In addition, however,
advantage was taken of the occurence of a number of cases of diphtheria amongst
the children attending the Convent in Wigmore Street, to test and immunize
several of those who had been in contact.
The following table and summary give details or the work of the Clinic during the year.