London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Romford 1944

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Romford]

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(c) Measles and Whooping Cough.
Whooping Cough was epidemic during the months of January
to June. Throughout the year there was no epidemic of Measles,
although there was a slight rise in the number of cases during
February.
(d) Acute Infective Hepatitis.
Forty-six cases of this disease were notified during the year,
and, in accordance with Ministry of Health Circular '2883, the actual
notification forms were forwarded each week to the Regional Medical
Officer at Cambridge, where they received consideration by the
team of research workers, who are stationed there, and who are
endeavouring to ascertain many of the unknown factors of this
condition.
(e) Smallpox.
Early in 1944 a small outbreak of Smallpox occurred in a
district near London. Information was received about residents in
this area, who were believed to be contacts. These were all visited
in the usual way, and kept under surveillance for the requisite
period, vaccination or re-vaccination being advised. None of the
contacts developed Smallpox.
About the same time information was received about certain
passengers and crew, proceeding to this area from ships reaching
this Country from the Fjast, and on which one or two cases of
Smallpox had occurred. These, also, were visited, and kept under
supervision, but no cases developed.

(ii) Non-Notifiable Diseases.

(a) The relative prevalence of these is set out below:—

Table 6.
Rubella296
Chickenpox97
Mumps6

(b) Influenza.
I reported previously on the arrangements which were made in
December, 1943 to tackle the epidemic of Influenza, which was then
prevalent. This epidemic continued into the early part of 1944, but
did not show any higher mortality. The morbidity rate, however,
was fairly high, but the period of incapacity on the average was
short. Most of the fatal cases occurred in persons over 55 years of
age.