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
Edmonton 1939
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Edmonton]
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1 box of kippers 7 baskets of cobnuts 7 tins of corned beef 6 stone of dog fish 6 cartons of yeast ( 1j cwt ) 1 box of skate wings 6 tins of prawns
17 boxes of oranges 1497 jars of plum jam 812 jars of raspberry jam 33 bags of popcorns 35 tins of tongue 32 crates of tomatoes 22 rabbits
| Disease | Total No: of Cases | No: remvd to Hosp: | Deaths | to 1 | 1 to 2 | 2 to 3 | 3 to 4 | 4 to 5 | 5 to 10 | 10 to 15 | 15 to 20 | 20 to 35 | 35 to 45 | 45 to 65 | 65 & over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Fever | 182 | 174 | – | 1 | 5 | 12 | 11 | 17 | 88 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 2 | 2 | – |
| Diphtheria | 49 | 47 | 1 | – | – | 3 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 10 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – |
| Enteric Fever | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | - | - | – | – | – |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 102 | 98 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 85 | 13 | – | – |
| Pneumonia | 66 | 23 | 67 | – | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 4 |
| Erysipelas | 36 | 13 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 4 |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 19 | 19 | – | 19 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dysentery | 3 | 3 | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – |
| Whooping Cough | 24 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Measles | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cerebrospinal. Fever | 3 | 3 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The following tables indicates the wards from which the various cases were notified:-
| Disease | B ury Street Ward | Church Street Ward | Angel Road Ward | Silver Street Ward | N.Mddx, C.Hosp: | Other Instns | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Fever | 43 | 27 | 42 | 63 | 7 | – | 182 |
| Diphtheria | 8 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 1 | – | 49 |
| Enteric Fever | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| Fuerperal Pyrexia | 9 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 64 | – | 102 |
| Pneumonia | 23 | 13 | 21 | 9 | - | – | 66 |
| Erysipelas | 16 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 2 | – | 36 |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 3 | – | - | 2 | 14 | – | 19 |
| Dysentery | – | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | 3 |
| Whooping Cough | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | – | – | 24 |
| Measles | 1 | – | - | 1 | – | – | 2 |
| Cerebrospinal Fever | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
CANCER
The incidence of Cancer relative to the various organs of the body is given as under:-
| Males | Females | |
|---|---|---|
| Respiratory | 10 | 5 |
| Genital Organs (female) | – | 3 |
| Genito-urinary (male) | 12 | – |
| Breast | 1 | 14 |
| Digestive organs and peritoneum | 31 | 34 |
| Uterus | – | 10 |
| Buccal cavity and pharynx | 3 | 2 |
| Skin | – | 1 |
| Other organs | -6 | 6 |
| 53 | 75 |
PREVENTION OF BLINDNESS
Cases of ophthalmia neonatorum aro promptly visited and, if thought
necessary, are removed to St.Margaret's Hospital for treatment. No cases of
blindness have arisen during; the year due to this cause.
As provided by Section 176 (1) of the Public Health Act, 1936, arrangements
have now been entered into with the Middlesex County Council for the
treatment at the school clinics of adolescents who are ascertained at schools
to be suffering from defective vision.
ORTHOPAEDIC SCHEME
I am happy to report a further development in the Public Health Service.
This was the inauguration of a scheme for orthopaedic treatment for children
after leaving school in cases where they are found whilst at school to be
needing such treatment. The scheme to include supervision, massage, exercise,
operative treatment in hospital and the provision of surgical appliances where
such provision forms part of the hospital treatment.
The Ministry of Health stated that the scheme would be covered by Section
181 of the Public Health Act,1936, furthermore, the Middlesex County Council
stated they had no objection to the scheme.