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

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Coulsdon and Purley 1937

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Coulsdon]

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of typhoid, this comparison would have been even more favourable.
Even so, when the increasing population is taken into consideration,
it will be found that the incidence of infectious disease was very low,
thus the number of cases per thousand of population fell from an average
of 6.7 in 1915-24 to an average of 3.9 in 1925-34; in 1935 it was 4.7,
in 1936 it fell to 3.6, while in 1937 it was as low as 2.8.
The following Table shows the number of cases notified, together
with the number removed to Hospital, and the total deaths:—

The following Table shows the number of cases notified, together with the number removed to Hospital, and the total deaths:—

Disease.Number Notified.Removed to Hospital.Total Deaths.
Scarlet Fever6250_
Diphtheria88-
Enteric Fever26153
Erysipelas142-
Pneumonia30*16
Puerperal Fever551
Puerperal Pyrexia21
Ophthalmia Neonatorum1
Polio-encephalitis222
Polio-myelitis33
Dysenteryl1
Totals1548722

* includes deaths from all forms of Pneumonia.
Further Tables (I and II) will be found in the Appendix showing
the ages at which the infection occurred, the municipal wards in which
the cases were resident, and the monthly incidence of the disease.
DIPHTHERIA.
The incidence of this disease remained at a very low level throughout
1937, following a wave which lasted from the Autumn of 1934 until
the early summer of 1936.
Only 8 cases were notified during the year compared with 35, 52
and 24 in the preceding three years. This is the lowest number recorded
since 1931, and represents, in view of the increasing population, by
far the lowest incidence experienced in the District since its constitution
in 1915. It is further interesting to note that of the 8 notified cases
one case was swab positive only, while another showed clinical signs
of diphtheria although all swabs proved negative. Only one of the 8
cases had received any form of immunisation treatment, and this had
only received the "one shot" method of treatment, without being
tested afterwards to ascertain its efficacy. The onset of the disease a year
after treatment proved that in this case insufficient immunity had
developed.
In addition to the 8 notified cases, 5 cases were admitted to Hospital
as suspicious clinically, but proved negative bacteriologically, while two
17