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
Croydon 1905
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]
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76
E—REPORT ON THE BACTERIOLOGICAL AND
CHEMICAL LABORATORY.
In the year 1896, a small bacteriological laboratory was fitted up
at the Borough Hospital. This was designed to assist in the recognition
of obscure cases of diphtheria or phthisis occurring in the
Borough. Subsequently, this assistance was extended to the examination
of blood from doubtful cases of enteric fever.
For the first few years of its existence comparatively little use was made of the laboratory as is shown by the following tabic :—-
| Year. | Specimens exarr.ined for Diphtheria, Enteric Fever, and Tuberculosis. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Borough Cases (outside the Hospital). | Hospital Cases. | Total | |
| 1897 | 85 | not recorded. | — |
| 1898 | 125 | not recorded. | — |
| 1899 | not recorded. | not recorded. | — |
| 1900 | 199 | 248 | 447 |
| 1901 | 784 | 885 | 1669 |
| 1902 | 698 | 859 | 155 7 |
| 1903 | 1089 | 1322 | 2411 |
| 1904 | 2027 | 2494 | 4521 |
| 1905 | 2276 | 4164 | 6440 |
The figures for the year 1905 again show a very large increase
in the number of specimens examined at the Laboratory.
For the following account of the results obtained in the
laboratory during the year, I am indebted to Dr. Brincker, the
Borough Bacteriologist and Senior Resident Medical Officer of the
Borough Hospital.
Bacteriology (i).—Material from suspected cases of diphtheria,
enteric fever, and phthisis, is examined free of cost for all medical