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
Dagenham 1935
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Dagenham]
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children dealt with is comparatively small, it will be seen
that the tendency is to show that the greater the number
of immunes per family, the greater will be the number
who give a negative primary Schick reaction.
The following table shows the influence of a case of diphtheria occurring in the home on the Schick
| Age. | Positive. | Negative. | Total. | Percentage Positive. | Percentage Positive in general local population. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 8 | 63 | 44 | 107 | 58.9 | 74.3 |
| 8 to 12 | 95 | 93 | 188 | 50.5 | 60.7 |
| 12 and over | 27 | 27 | 54 | 50.0 | 50.1 |
These three tables refer to all children dealt with
in this district from the time immunizing was started.
Hitherto, it has been the practice to introduce a
table showing the relation of the period of residence in
Dagenham with the Schick reactions of children at
three selected age groups. Owing, however, to the
population becoming more settled and comparatively
less immigration from the congested London boroughs,
this table does not demonstrate any marked relationship
between susceptibility to Diphtheria and
environment.
I give below an extract from a commentary on a
recent Annual Report of the City of Providence,
U.S.A., which contains a population of approximately
290,000 :—
"Diphtheria gave the low record of 43 cases with
no deaths. No death from diphtheria has been
registered in Providence since April, 1932. Fifty
per cent. of children 0-4 and 95 per cent. of children
5-14 are known to be immune to diphtheria, so the