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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
Coulsdon and Purley 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Coulsdon]
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INFECTIOUS DISEASE.
The following table indicates the number of cases of infectious disease notified during 1952, the number thought to have been treated in hospital, and the number of deaths which occurred.
| Disease. | Numbers Notified. | Treated in Hospital. | Total Deaths. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diphtheria | — | — | - |
| Scarlet fever | 80 | 24 | — |
| Erysipelas | — | — | — |
| Puerperal pyrexia | 2 | — | — |
| Pneumonia — primary | 21 | 14 | 37* |
| Typhoid fever | 1 | 1 | — |
| Paratyphoid fever | — | — | — |
| Dysentery | 48 | 40 | — |
| Poliomyelitis | 8 | 7 | 3 |
| Meningococcal infections | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Encephalitis, acute | 1 | 1 | — |
| Measles | 170 | 1 | — |
| Whooping cough | 196 | 1 | — |
| Food poisoning | 5 | 3 | — |
| Totals | 533 | 93 | 41 |
* Includes deaths from all forms of pneumonia.
A further analysis of these cases by age, wards and the
months during which they occurred is given in Tables I and II in
the Appendix, while a full statement of the cases of infectious
disease notified since 1922 is presented in Table III in the
Appendix.
It will be seen that whooping cough was the commonest
notifiable infectious disease, 1952 being a relatively good year for
measles. Scarlet fever was also slightly less prevalent, and
dysentery, which was as usual mainly associated with the Mental
Hospitals was the only infectious disease to show any marked
increase.
Excluding measles and whooping cough which were not
notifiable between the two Wars, and the hospital cases of dysentery,
the incidence of the remaining acute notifiable infectious
diseases decreased from 3.1 per 1,000 in 1950 and 2.6 in 1951 to
2.0, which is well below the pre-war average and slightly below the
post-war average of 2.2.
SMALLPOX.
Three times during the year contacts with cases of smallpox
overseas were under surveillance in the District. On two occasions
the contacts had arrived by plane and once by liner. No cases
developed, however.
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