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
Acton 1902
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Acton]
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It was ascertained that the following schools had been attended by children previous to their developing Scarlet Fever :—
| School. | No. of Cases. |
|---|---|
| All Saints, South Acton | 4 |
| Osborne Road, South Acton | 5 |
| Priory School, Acton Lane | 11 |
| Beaumont Park, Acton Green | 13 |
| East Acton | 5 |
| Churchfield Hall | 6 |
| St Mary's, Oldham Terrace | 7 |
| Willesden Junction | 3 |
| Haberdashers' | 1 |
| Private and other Schools | 20 |
DIPHTHERIA.
Thirty-three cases were notified.
As I have repeatedly pointed out, it is impossible to say whether a
suspicious case is true Diphtheria without a bacteriological examination,
and medical practitioners err on the right side in notifying the same.
I trust that when the new municipal buildings are erected, provision
will be made for a small laboratory where such examinations can be
conducted. In the meantime I beg to ask the Council to make
arrangements with the Clinical Research Association to conduct these
necessary examinations for us. This course is followed by several
other sanitary authorities, and the cost is very small.
We have a striking example of the progress preventive medicine is
making in the treatment of this disease. In Diphtheria Antitoxin we
have a sure remedy if the treatment is applied before the poison has
had time to do its work.
The following figures of the Metropolitan Asylums Board are particularly instructive, showing the results of the antitoxic treatment of Diphtheria at the Brook Hospital, Shooters Hill, 1901:—
| Treated on | Cases. | Mortality per cent. |
|---|---|---|
| First day of Disease | 38 | 0.0 |
| Second „ | 170 | 4.1 |
| Third ,, | 192 | 11.9 |
| Fourth „ | 137 | 12.4 |
| Fifth day and after | 186 | 16.6 |