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
Finchley 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Finchley]
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The following table shows the number of cases notified during the past five years:
| 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diphtheria | - | - | - | - | - |
| Scarlet Fever | 62 | 124 | 132 | 99 | 93 |
| Smallpox | — | — | — | — | — |
| Enteric Fever | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cerebro Spinal Fever | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| Meningococcal Infection | |||||
| Poliomyelitis | 4 | 26 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Pneumonia | 60 | 65 | 48 | 72 | 48 |
| Measles | 888 | 381 | 730 | 647 | 577 |
| Whooping Cough . | 254 | 88 | 361 | 240 | 273 |
Diphtheria
It is now 7 years since a case of Diphtheria occurred in
Finchley. There is no doubt that this is due to immunisation and
once again I stress the duty of all parents to ensure that their
children are immunised not only in their own interests but in the
interest of the whole community as it is only by having a high
proportion of the child population immunised that the disease can
be kept at bay.
During the year 688 children were immunised by General
Practitioners and Medical Officers of the Local Health Authority
and in 325 of these a combined Diphtheria prophylactic and
Whooping Cough vaccine was used.
Seven hundred and twenty-eight children were given "booster"
doses of diphtheria prophylactic at the age of 5 years.
Scarlet Fever
There were 93 cases of Scarlet Fever, 6 fewer than in the
previous year. The known cases were mild in character and there is
16