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
Enfield 1935
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Enfield]
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34
ENTERITIS.
Ten deaths of children under one year of age occurred from this
disease during the year.
In view of the fact that this figure is considerably higher than
the figure for 1934 and previous years, I have analysed the cases.
Of the 10 deaths
3 occurred in March,
1 „ May,
3 „ June,
2 „ July, and
1 „ August.
It has always been assumed that Enteritis in babies is a disease
of the Summer months, associated with dust-born germs and
conveyed by milk.
Under these circumstances the greatest mortality should be
during the months of July, August and September, and although
all the deaths were between March and August, it can hardly be
held that this conforms with our present conception of the disease.
Another fact of some importance is that five of the children were
under three weeks old, and I rather feel that causes other than
Enteritis account for the deaths.
The following table shows the deaths registered in the District from the seven chief zymotic diseases during the past five years:—
| Disease. | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Pox | - | - | - | - | - |
| *Scarlet Fever | 9 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| *Diphtheria | 10 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 6 |
| *Measles | — | 10 | — | 7 | — |
| *Enteric Fever | 2 | - | — | — | 5 |
| *Whooping Cough | 1 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Epidemic Enteritis | — | — | — | — | — |
| Totals | 22 | 34 | 13 | 11 | 13 |
| *The actual Enfield deaths were: Diphtheria, 2; Scarlet Fever, 1; Whooping Cough, 1; Measles, 0; and Enteric Fever, 2; the latter two deaths occurring outside the District. | |||||