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 1924
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]
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33
Pasteurisation in regard to milk borne outbreaks.—The incidents
detailed above illustrate both the strength and the weakness of the process
of "flash" pasteurisation, to which a large proportion of town milk is now
subjected for commercial purposes. On the one hand, pasteurisation of the
milk in question would probably have destroyed the infecting organisms,
and it is likely that pasteurisation is a valuable agent in protecting the public
against such chance infection. On the other hand, pasteurisation, through
the very protection thus afforded, might lead to a false sense of security
and to a failure to safeguard the milk from such sources of contamination.
One further indirect effect of pasteurisation has been the "pooling" of
milk from various sources, so that it becomes often impossible to trace a
particular supply of milk back to its source. It was fortunate that in the
present instance the problem was a comparatively simple one.
WORK OF THE BOROUGH HOSPITAL.
The Borough Hospital for infectious diseases contains 170
beds, 12 of which, in a separate block, are utilised for the treatment
of tuberculosis. In addition, 5 shelters are provided for other
tuberculous patients.
The year was again an easy one, the number of patients
admitted for treatment being much below the average, and more
than a hundred less than in 1923.
Reference has been made above to the various types of disease
which have been under treatment at the hospital during the year.
The following table sets out the number of patients admitted, and the conditions from which they were suffering, during 1924, and previous years:—
| Patients admitted from Croydon C. B. and Penge U.D. on a diagnosis of:— | Cases admitted during 1915 . | Cases admitted during 1916. | Cases admitted during 1917. | Cases admitted during 1918. | Cases admitted during 1919. | Cases admitted during; 1920. | Cases admitted during 1921. | Cases admitted during 1922. | Cases admitted during 1923. | Cases admitted during 1924. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Fever | 413 | 295 | 201 | 386 | 532 | 583 | 738 | 728 | 350 | 261 (I)1 |
| Diphtheria | 200 | 313 | 207 | 179 | 433 | 540 | 456 | 349 | 206 | 219 (2) |
| Cerebro Sp. Meningitis | 67 | 24 | 38 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 (3) |
| Pulmonary Tuberculosis | 61 | 44 | 40 | 37 | 44 | 63 | 64 | 58 | 66 | 35 |
| Enteric Fever | 13 | 10 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| Puerperal Fever | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Morbilli (Measles) | 9 | 17 | 25 | 17 | 6 | 4 | — | — | 10 | 7 (4) |
| Rubella(German Measles) | — | — | 12 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 (5) |
| Mumps | — | — | 20 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | — | —- | — |
| Erysipelas | — | — | 18 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 1 (6) |
| Encephalitis Lethargica | — | — | — | — | — | — | —• | — | 5 | 12 (7) |
| Other diseases | 11 | 33 | 10 | 37 | 29 | 24 | 28 | 14 | 22 | 14 (8) |
| Total | 778 | 738 | 579 | 711 | 1068 | 1246 | 1313 | 1168 | 674 | 565 |
*The numbers in brackets refer to the following notes:—
(1) Includes 4 cases of scarlet fever, suffering also from diphtheria.
(2) Includes 4 cases of diphtheria, suffering also from scarlet fever.
(3) Includes 1 case of influenza and 1 of hemiplegia.
(4) Includes 3 cases of rubella.
(5) Includes 2 cases of scarlet fever.
(6) Case of diphtheria.
(7) Includes 1 case of cerebral abscess and 2 of hemiplegia.
(8) Includes 3 of whooping cough, 3 enteritis, 4 ophthalmia, 1 marasmus,
and 3 with no appreciable disease.
The average daily number of beds occupied amounted to 75.9,
as compared with 80 for the previous year.