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There were 49 St. Pancras cases in the 57 notifications, 47 of whom contracted the
Sonne type of Dysentery, and the others the B. Flexner type. They all recovered.
FOOD POISONING.
Food Poisoning and suspected Food Poisoning were made notifiable by Section 7 of the
London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1932, which came into force on July 12th,
of that year.
Twenty-two notifications were received during the year, but there were no deaths.
The following report, dated 18th November. 1936, was prepared by the Medical Officer
of Health :—
"I have to report that on the 6th instant I received a letter from Dr. T. V.
Good, the Senior Medical Officer to the General Post ()ffice, informing me that
there had been seventeen cases of food poisoning amongst the staff of the Euston
Telephone Exchange.
I visited the Exchange the same day and found that all cases had returned
to duty.
Suspicion appeared to rest upon steak and kidney pudding eaten at the midday
meal on the 4th. Unfortunately there were no remains of this for the purpose
of analysis.
A bacteriological examination was made in respect of the cook, but with
entirely negative results.
The indisposition was slight, and although there can be little doubt that it
originated from food eaten at the Staff Canteen on the 4th instant, it is not
possible to draw any more precise conclusion as to its cause."
MEASLES AND GERMAN MEASLES.
Notification of these diseases in St. Pancras is compulsory under the Metropolitan
Boroughs of Lambeth and St. Pancras (Measles and German Measles) Regulations, 1920.
Under these Regulations all cases are notifiable by parents and guardians, but only the
first case occurring in an outbreak in a household or institution is notifiable by medical
practitioners, an interval of two months since the last case constituting a new outbreak.
Every case of Measles or German Measles which comes to the notice of this Department
is visited by a Health Visitor who gives the mother advice and help as regards the patient.
Where actual nursing is necessary for the case, this is arranged for by the Health Visitor
and carried out by the staffs of the several nursing associations Details as to the manner
in which this work is done under a Block Grant from the Borough Council is reported on
page 110. Where a medical practitioner is in attendance a card is left for him, suggesting
that, if he agrees that the circumstances show the desirability of a visiting nurse, this will
be carried out under his instructions on receipt of the card duly signed.
During 1936 the Borough experienced its bi-ennial epidemic of measles.
From the table on page 7 i it will be seen that out of a notified total of 3,053 of these
diseases (measles and German measles) 805 were removed to hospital. Home nursing was
provided in 117 cases.
German Measles is generally a mild disease. There were 78 cases during the year
1936, as compared with 145 cases during 1935. There were no deaths.
Particulars of the cases, deaths and incidence and mortality rates of Measles are given
in the following tables :—+