Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Ealing]
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months. Three of the cases were, without doubt, infected outside
the Borough. One of the cases occurring in June was the wife of
a case notified in January. Beyond this there was no relationship
between the cases and there was no ascertainable source of infection.
Cress had been eaten in only two cases. The ages of the patients
ranged from 1 year and 7 months to 64 years, as seen in Table VII.
The disease was mild in all the cases and there were no deaths.
Cerebro-Spinal Fever.—Two cases of cerebro-spinal fever
occurred during the year, one in March and the other in July.
One was a child 6 months old, who gave typical signs of the disease
and who died after 19 days of illness ; the other was a girl 1\ years
of age who suffered from a fulminating attack of the disease, becoming
unconscious within 24 hours and dying within 48 hours. Both
cases were confirmed by bacteriological examination of the spinal
fluid.
Encephalitis Lethargica.—Six cases of encephalitis lethargica
occurred in the Borough. One other case, which at first was
notified as encephalitis, proved to be tuberculous meningitis. The
six cases consisted of four females, 17, 47, 59 and 68 years of age
and two males, 43 and 47 years of age. Three deaths occurred, two
females, 17 and 59 years of age, and a male, 43 years. Of the
three other cases, one is in a Mental Institution and the other two
are now normal both mentally and physically.
Puerperal Fever and Pyrexia.—Six cases of puerperal
fever were notified during the year. Two of the cases were attended
by a midwife who later had to call in a doctor to render assistance.
Both were removed to the West Middlesex Hospital, where one died.
The four other cases were attended by a doctor from the first,
and in each some operative procedure was called for during the
confinement. Three of these cases were admitted for treatment
to the West Middlesex Hospital, where one died. There were thus
two deaths from puerperal sepsis.
Fifteen cases of puerperal pyrexia were notified. In no
case was the rise in temperature found subsequently to be due to
puerperal sepsis. The conditions noted in individual cases were
cystitis, pyelitis, otitis media, nasal catarrh, femoral thrombosis,
and mastitis, while in nine other cases no definite cause could be
assigned.