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Pneumonia
Only two forms of pneumonia, namely, acute primary and influenzal, are notifiable.
Three such cases were reported to me during the year.
In the table of deaths, all forms of pneumonia are included in the classification
(No. 23). It will be seen that 47 deaths occurred and of these 43 were persons of
65 years of age and over.
Puerperal Pyrexia
"Puerperal Pyrexia" means any febrile condition occurring in a woman in
whom a temperature of 100.4° Fahrenheit (38° Centigrade) or more has occurred
within fourteen days after childbirth or miscarriage.
Notification is required to be made to the Medical Officer of Health of the
district where the patient is when the disease is diagnosed. Of the 23 cases notified
to me during the year, one was a home confinement and a Finchley resident and
the remainder occurred in the North Middlesex Hospital Annexe in The Bishop's
Avenue and were residents of other districts.
Food Poisoning
Seven persons were notified as suffering from food poisoning during the year, and
in addition 13 cases were otherwise ascertained. The causative organisms identified
were as follows:—
Salmonella bredeney 5
Salmonella durham 1
Salmonella heidelberg 1
Salmonella typhimurium 6
Staphylococci 3
Esch. Coli 1
Not identified 3
Dysentery
Seventeen cases of dysentery were notified and all were investigated and the
persons concerned advised on how to prevent the spread of this infection. Fortunately
it is a mild infection as a rule, although the illness can be severe in infants and in
the aged. It tends to become epidemic in schools, hospitals, nurseries or camps.
Its prevention is simple, i.e., the teaching of hand washing in schools and an improvement
in the general standard of hygiene in the home.
Typhoid and Paratyphoid
There were no cases of Typhoid or Paratyphoid during the year.
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