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
Ealing 1934
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Ealing]
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Ophthalmia Neonatorum .—Five cases coming under this heading were notified. A summary of the cases, with the result of treatment, is given in the following table:—
| Number of Cases Notified | No. Treated | Vision unimpaired | Vision impaired | Total Blindness | Deaths | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Home | In Hospital | |||||
| 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - |
Whooping Cough and Measles.—Information regarding the
prevalence of these two non-notifiable infectious diseases is obtained
from the weekly returns of absentees which are supplied by the
head-teachers of the elementary schools. The returns show that
during 1934 the number of children absent on account of whooping
cough was 252, compared with 553 in the previous year. Measles,
however, was widely prevalent, as many as 1,361 absentees being
noted on account of this condition compared with 233 in the
previous year.
Four deaths occurred from whooping cough, giving a deathrate
of 0.03 per thousand of population, compared with 0.05 for
England and Wales and 0.07 for London. Measles was the cause
of seven deaths, which is equivalent to a mortality of 0.05 per
thousand of population. The measles mortality-rate for Ealing
is considerably below those for England and Wales and for London,
which are 0.09 and 0.20 respectively.
The returns furnished by the head-teachers are of particular
value as they enable visits to be made by the Health Visitors to
the homes of many of the children, with the object of advising the
mothers regarding the isolation and nursing of the patients. As
many as 337 visits were made in the year to such cases.