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

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Marylebone 1951

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

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27
International Certificates of Vaccination and Inoculation.—In accordance with the request of the
Ministry of Health, arrangements were made for the authentication by the Medical Officer of Health
of certificates of vaccination and inoculation issued by medical practitioners in St. Marylebone in
respect of persons proceeding abroad.
Smallpox.—No case of smallpox occurred in St. Marylebone during 1951. Forty-two passengers from
the R.M.S. "Strathmore," which arrived at Tilbury in February from Sydney via Bombay, were
kept under close observation at various addresses in the Borough as a girl aged 12 years, taken ill on
the voyage and isolated in the ship's hospital as a case of chicken-pox, was subsequently found
to be suffering from smallpox.
On the 1st May, when the S.S. "Ranchi" called at Marseilles, a case of smallpox was landed and
taken to hospital. A week later the ship arrived in the Port of London, and 11 passengers who proceeded
to addresses in the Borough were kept under daily observation for the requisite period.
Leprosy.—The Public Health (Leprosy) Regulations, 1951, required medical practitioners attending
a person suffering from leprosy to notify the Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health direct.
As it was felt that this might create a precedent, leading to further centralisation and curtailment
of the powers of local authorities, the Metropolitan Boroughs' Standing Joint Committee decided to
make representations to the Ministry of Health with a view to securing an amendment of tinRegulations
so that any such cases are notified to the local sanitary authority as in the case of other
infectious diseases.
Food Poisoning Outbreaks.—Details of cases of food poisoning notified during the year are given
below in the form required by the Ministry of Health:—
(a) Number of outbreaks.—Eight single unrelated cases.
(b) Deaths.—None.
(c) Organisms or other agents responsible, with number of outbreaks attributable to each.
Salmonella enteritidis.—One case.
Salmonella typhi-murium.—One case.
Not ascertainable.—Six single cases.
(d) Foods involved, with number of outbreaks associated with each food.—In no case was it possible
definitely to identify a particular foodstuff as being the source of infection.
Twenty-nine visits were paid by one of the women sanitary inspectors in connection with these
cases.
Tuberculosis—New Cases and Mortality.—Table 12 contains information with regard to age and sex
distribution of. and mortality from, all forms of tuberculosis.

TABLE 12.— Tuberculosis: New Cases and Deaths.

At ages— years‡NEW CASESDEATHS
PulmonaryNon-PulmonaryPulmonaryNon-Pulmonary
M.F.M.F.M.F.M.F.
0—1--------
1—51111-
5—1521__-
15—251611-11--
25—35151813-3
35—45148112
45—5595-16-
55—65202-_-_91
65 and upwards53151
Totals824927237-
‡Including all primary notifications and also any other new cases of tuberculosis which came to the knowledge of the Medical Officer of Health during the year.

Notifications.—Table 11 (p. 26) gives information regarding notifications of pulmonary and nonpulmonary
tuberculosis received during the year. Two hundred and three visits from the housing
and sanitary viewpoints were paid by one of the women sanitary inspectors to new cases and those
moving into the Borough from other areas. The total number of cases of tuberculosis remaining
on the register at the 31st December, 1951, was 814.