London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Ealing 1920

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Ealing]

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48
Measles and Whooping Cough
Measles and Whooping Cough.
By the Public Health (Measles and German Measles)
Regulations, 1915, Recision Order, issued in Novenber,
1919, measles ceased to be compulsorily notifiable in
January, 1920. The cessation of notifications has not
been to the disadvantage of public health efforts to deal
with this disease, for by the weekly notifications from
the schools of all non-notifiable infectious diseases
very accurate information regarding cases is provided.
The cases so notified are visited by the health visitors,
who give instructions regarding the care of the sick
and the protection of the uninfected, and provide in
some instances nursing assistance. Measles was epidemic
in the town during March, April, May and June, the
maximum number of cases occurring in May.
The absences recorded from the schools owing to
measles in the home was as follows :—
Jan. Feb. Mar. April. May. June July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec„
3 6 95 200 319 100 14 1 — 1 3 —
Total 742
These absences were not all actual cases of the disease,
some being due to the disease in other members of the
house. Nevertheless, they give some idea of the
prevalence, and the notifications are sufficient to direct
our attention to the individual homes infected.
There were only three deaths from measles, giving
a measles death-rate of 0.04 per 1,000 of the population.
In the following Table the measles death-rate for Ealing
is compared with that for England and Wales, etc. :—