London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Marylebone 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
63
SECTION F.—PREVALENCE OF, AND CONTROL
OVER, INFECTIOUS AND OTHER DISEASES.
Under this section of the report the Minister of Health requires information
with regard to the prevalence of notifiable infectious diseases during the year, with
any noteworthy facts of the source or spread of infection.
The various diseases are each dealt with and commented upon under their
respective headings and notes are also included with regard to immunisation and
preventive treatment.
table 38 gives a list of diseases which were notifiable in St. Marylebone during the year under review. TABLE 38
List or Notifiable Diseases.
| Smallpox | Acute Encephalitis Lethargica | |
| Cholera | Polio-Encephalitis | |
| Diphtheria | Ophthalmia Neonatorum | |
| Membranous Croup | Tuberculosis | |
| Erysipelas | Malaria* | |
| Scarlatina or Scarlet Fever | Induced Malaria | |
| Typhus Fever | Dysentery* | |
| Typhoid Fever | Acute Primary Pneumonia | |
| Paratyphoid Fever | Acute Influenzal Pneumonia | |
| Enteric Fever | Plague | |
| Relapsing Fever | Glanders | |
| Continued Fever | Anthrax | |
| Cerebro-Spinal Fever | Farcy | |
| Puerperal Fever | Food Poisoning | |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | Measles | from 1st October, 1938. |
| Acute Poliomyelitis | Whooping Cough | |
*A Medical Practitioner is not required to notify cases of Malaria, or Dysentery,
if the case has already, to his knowledge, been notified within the period of 6 months
immediately preceding the date on which he first became aware of it.
Table 39 shows the number of cases of infectious disease notified during the past six years TABLE 39.
Infectious Disease Notifications.
| 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smallpox | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Diphtheria | 78 | 104 | 119 | 121 | 108 | 93 | |
| Erysipelas | 76 | 69 | 35 | 28 | 47 | 35 | |
| Scarlet Fever | 198 | 212 | 155 | 141 | 121 | 88 | |
| Enteric Fever | 7 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 8 | |
| Paratyphoid Fever | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | |
| Continued Fever | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Puerperal Fever | 8 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 13 | 3 | |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 17 | 18 | 36 | 28 | 34 | 18 | |
| Cerebro-spinal Meningitis | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Tuberculosis (Pulmonary) | 148 | 132 | 93 | 107 | 117 | 105 | |
| Tuberculosis (Non-Pulmonary) | 16 | 25 | 19 | 23 | 17 | 24 | |
| Acute Poliomyelitis | — | — | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Polio-Encephalitis | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 6 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 4 | |
| Encephalitis Lethargica | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Pneumonia | 74 | 70 | 33 | 66 | 61 | 24 | |
| Malaria | — | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 2 | |
| Dysentery | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 16 | |
| Measles | from 1st October, 1938. | — | — | — | — | — | 3 |
| Whooping Cough | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | |
| Totals | 633 | 639 | 525 | 538 | 649 | 461 | |
Table 40 shows, with regard to the infections, the total number of notifications
received, the age distribution, the number of cases notified from each of the four
registration districts, and the total deaths during 1938.