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
Orpington 1962
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Orpington]
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54
Scarlet Fever.
Notifications of this disease showed an increase, twenty-nine cases
being notified as against eighteen in 1961. None of these cases was
removed to hospital.
No deaths from this disease were recorded and there were no
"return" cases.
Smallpox and Vaccination.
No cases occurred in the Urban District area during 1962, but with
the importation into the country of this disease during the latter part
of 1961 and early in 1962, several suspected contacts were kept under
surveillance for the requisite period.
The Public Health Department was under considerable pressure
for a considerable time as a result of this "scare", and one was glad
that the policy of keeping staff vaccinations up to date had been in
operation, thus avoiding anxiety on that score.
With the rigid enforcement of the regulations applicable to International
Certificates of Vaccination, it was necessary for the department
to authenticate the doctors' signature on 4,561 such certificates.
The following details of smallpox vaccination have been supplied by the County Medical Officer:
| Age at date of vaccination. | Number vaccinated. | Number re-vaccinated. |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1 | 998 | – |
| 1 | 160 | 14 |
| 2 to 4 | 284 | 173 |
| 5 to 14 | 1,019 | 1,396 |
| 15 or over | 1,411 | 3,432 |
| 3,872 | 5,015 |
Tuberculosis.
The following is a copy of the recordings in the register at 31st December, 1962:—
| Respiratory. | Other Forms. | Total No. of cases. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. | F. | M. | F. | ||
| On register at 1st January, 1962 | 353 | 316 | 25 | 30 | 724 |
| New cases notified during 1962 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 35 |
| No. of cases coming to knowledge after death | 1 | 3 | – | – | 4 |
| Restored to Register | — | — | — | — | — |
| Inward Transfers | 13 | 10 | — | — | 23 |
| 390 | 336 | 27 | 33 | 786 | |
| Deletions, deaths, removals, recoveries, etc. | 25 | 31 | — | — | 56 |
| 365 | 305 | 27 | 33 | 730 | |