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
Hendon 1944
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hendon]
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4
INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
The following Table shows the number of notifications of the
principal infectious diseases as compared with the previous year:-
TABLE III.
CASES OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES OTHER THAN TUBERCULOSIS NOTIFIED DURING 1943 & 1944.
| DISEASE | TOTAL CASES 1943 | notified 1944 | REMOVED TO hospital 19 44 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Fever | 758 | 374 | 256 |
| Diphtheria | 31 | 17 | 17 |
| Pneumonia | 172 | 132 | 66 |
| Acute Poliomyelitis | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Measles | 1005 | 123 | 7 |
| Whooping Cough | 212 | 530 | |
| Cerebro-spinal. Fever | 10 | 5 | |
| Typhoid or Enteric Fever | 2 | 1 | 3. |
The situation as regards the main notifiable diseases, particularly
that of cerebrospinal fever end typhoid or enteric fever continue!, to be
satisfactory,
Scarlet Fever showed a narked diminution as did the number of cases
of measles. Conversely, whooping cough was much more prevalent,
A small outbreak of a virulent type of smallpox occurred in Middlesex
but was soon under control and finally eliminated, Altogether 34 contacts of
cases were kept under observation in Hendon and a number of suspected cases were
seen in consultation with local medical practitioners, but no case actually
occurred in the Borough,
The campaign for Diphtheria Immunisation has been continued intensively
since 1941, and I think it is a fair assumption that immunisation has played a
large part in the low level of the incidence of Diphtheria which now obtains.