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
Romford 1949
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Romford]
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done by the will of the parents themselves. All injections are now
given free of charge by family practitioners as well as at the Clinics,
and at the Schools. It is immaterial to us by which doctor it is
done, so long as it is done, and cost no longer enters into it. General
Practitioners have again continued to send in their records to the
Department.
Propaganda was carried out as before, and particular attention
was drawn to the desirability of "booster" doses at 5 and 10 years
of age, in order to maintain a high standard of immunisation
amongst those children who have previously had a course of injections
in early infancy.
The following statistics relate to the state of Immunisation at
the 31st December, 1949.
TABLE 14.
| Under 5 yrs. | 5-15 yrs. | |
|---|---|---|
| No. of children who had completed a full course of Immunisation at any time up to 31st December, 1949, and who were born between 31st December, 1935 and 31st December, 1949 | 3,578 | 8,891 |
| Approx. estimated No. of children | 7,180 | 10,500 |
| Percentage Immunised at 31st December, 1949 | 50 | 85 |
This, however, does not give a complete record as children,
as a general rule, do not complete inoculation earlier than their first
birthday. By allowing for this, the percentage of children immunised
between one and five years of age is raised to 65.
Table 15 gives the statistics since the inauguration of the
scheme in Romford in 1935, till the end of 1949.
TABLE 15.
| Number of Immunising injections given at the Clinics | 32,582 |
| Number of children who have completed the course of Injections, either at the Clinics or by own Doctors | 16,258 |
| Number of Schick Test Injections given at the Clinics, including Control Injections | 21,619 |
| Number who have been Schick Tested | 10,829 |
(d) Food Poisoning.
Nine cases were notified during the year, but there is no doubt
there were many more. A very large number, however, suffer only
to a relatively slight degree, and do not call in the assistance of a
doctor, even although food poisoning is suspected.
During the month of September 4 were notified, with cockles
as the suspected food factor. These were stated to have been purchased
from a district on the Thames estuary. On investigation
15 other cases were brought to light. Some of the cockles had been