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5 and 14 years. There seem to be two peak periods for whooping
cough: December to January, and May to August. Scarlet fever
has no settled peak period, and over the years every month produces a
varying quota of cases. Indeed, it is now almost difficult to speak
truly of an epidemic. From time to time scarlet fever presents a
particular problem, especially when it occurs in the home of a food
vendor—and several such cases were investigated—or in a hospital.
In September a suspected case occurred in the Maternity Hospital.
The case was removed to the Isolation Hospital, but this rash was
found later to be an allergy due to sensitivity to chloral. However,
certain precautionary measures were taken. The Hospital was closed
as far as admitting any further In-patients for a week. Patients
remained in hospital, but were discharged home at as early a date as
possible. The Out-patient Clinics were allowed to continue. All
personnel in the hospital had nose and throat swabs investigated.
All Wards were washed with antiseptic and all linen was laundered.
The incident showed how quickly measures, including the re-directing
of admissions, could be carried out. All staff at this hospital have
throat swabs examined monthly as a normal routine precaution, and
in emergencies there is the closest co-operation between the Management
and the Health Department.
Pneumonia was associated with the influenza epidemic which
occurred from December to March. There were no deaths due to
influenza. There were 31 deaths due to other types of pneumonia.
In 1952, and again this year, the majority of cases of poliomyelitis
occurred in the latter part of the year from September to December
rather than in the "polio" months of July and August. There was
one death in a young woman who contracted a fulminating disease
on holiday in Northern Italy, and died the day after admission to
hospital. There were no known secondary cases. Seven out of 9
paralytic cases and 3 out of 4 non-paralytic cases were admitted to
hospital. The high hospital admission rate is to be regarded as a
praiseworthy measure of care on the part of our doctors in seeking
confirmation of diagnosis and early treatment. All homes were visited.
No information could be obtained of possible sources of infection
except in one instance where a young man attended a party in a
Co-operative Hall near the Neasdon Isolation Hospital at a time when
there were many cases in this hospital. Before the disease appeared
in Beckenham it had been present for some time in the North-West
part of Greater London, and in Lewisham and then Bromley. It
was not necessary to exclude adult contacts from work, but one firm
had given an employee three weeks leave on full pay.
Two cases of meningococcal infection were admitted to hospital;
one a baby of 21 months, whose illness was believed to have been
brought on by a fall the day before admission to hospital. The other
illness occurred in a young woman following an attack of influenza
and was diagnosed after admission to hospital.
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