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
Coulsdon and Purley 1960
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Coulsdon]
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INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND THEIR CONTROL
The following table indicates the number of cases of infectious
diseases notified during 1960, the number admitted to hospital and
the number of deaths which occurred.
TABLE VI
| Disease. | Numbers Notified. | Admitted to Hospital. | Total Deaths. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet fever | 95 | 23 | — |
| Acute pneumonia | 8 | — | — |
| Measles | 60 | — | — |
| Whooping cough | 24 | — | — |
| Erysipelas | 5 | — | — |
| Dysentery | 19 | 2 | — |
| Food poisoning | 15 | 3 | — |
| Acute poliomyelitis | 1 | 1 | — |
| Puerperal pyrexia | — | — | — |
| Diphtheria | — | — | — |
| Typhoid | 1 | 1 | — |
A further analysis of these cases by ages, wards and the
months during which they occurred is given in Tables XVII and
XVIII in the Appendix and the number of cases of infectious
disease notified since 1930 is given in Table XIX in the Appendix.
It will be seen that tuberculosis is omitted from this list of
infectious diseases, as it is dealt with separately later. Fewer cases
of scarlet fever, measles and dysentery occurred than in 1959 and
the steady downward trend in the incidence of whooping cough
since 1956 was continued.
SCARLET FEVER
There were 95 cases of scarlet fever, mostly of a very mild
type. Twenty three cases were admitted to isolation hospital.
This disease remains difficult to control. The organism
responsible for it is sensitive to penicillin, but although penicillin
treatment leads to rapid recovery of cases its use in the treatment
of carriers is disappointing.
ACUTE PNEUMONIA
During the year eight cases occurred. This is the lowest
number notified since 1952. No case was admitted to hospital.
MEASLES
Only 60 cases of measles occurred, compared with 930 in
1959 and none was admitted to hospital. Immunisation is not
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