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
Chislehurst 1950
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Chislehurst]
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43
Dysentery.
Last year, only two cases of Dysentery were notified—a number
which has increased to 21 during 1950. These have been of the mild
Sonne type, but it has been noticed that there has been a tendency to an
increase in the notifications of this disease in other districts of which
I am Medical Officer of Health. The explanation of this rise in the
incidence of this disease is not clear, but it is a condition which, if it
gains a foothold in any community, will spread very rapidly despite
the most rigid public health control measures.
General.
The following table gives a summary of infectious diseases notified during the year: —
| Disease. | No. of cases notified. |
|---|---|
| Scarlet Fever | 275 |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 4 |
| Acute Poliomyelitis | 27 |
| Respiratory Tuberculosis (Male) | 52 |
| Respiratory Tuberculosis (Female) | 42 |
| Other forms of Tuberculosis (Male) | 2 |
| Other forms of Tuberculosis (Female) | 3 |
| Pneumonia | 44 |
| Whooping Cough | 461 |
| Measles | 338 |
| Erysipelas | 13 |
| Dysentery ......... | 21 |
| Typhoid Fever | 1 |
| Malaria (contracted abroad) | 1 |
| Food Poisoning........ | 46 |
Of the notified cases of acute Poliomyelitis, 13 were paralytic and
14 non-paralytic.
The following details relate to cases of infectious disease admitted to hospital during the year: —
| Disease. | Lennard Hospital. | Others. | Diagnosis not confirmed. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Fever | 153 | — | 1 |
| Acute Poliomyelitis | 23 | 5 | 8 |
| Cerebro-spinal Meningitis | 1 | — | 1 |
| Diphtheria | 6 | — | 6 |
| Whooping Cough | 12 | 2 | 1 |
| Measles | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Dysentery | 3 | — | 2 |
| Typhoid Fever | 1 | — | — |
| Paratyphoid | 1 | — | 1 |
| Pneumonia | — | 6 | — |
| Pneumonia and Whooping Cough | 2 | — | _ |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | _ | 2 | - |
| Meningitis | — | 1 | 1 |
| Food Poisoning | 1 |