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

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Willesden 1930

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Willesden]

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4
Return Cases of Scarlet Fever.—The following statement gives the return cases that
have occurred during 1930:—
I. Home Cases.—Approximately 70.
(a) No. of infecting cases giving rise to return cases not longer than
28 days after release from isolation 0
,, return cases they gave rise to 0
,, infecting cases per cent. of total home cases 0
,, return cases per cent. of total home cases 0
(b) No. of infecting cases giving rise to return cases more than 28
days after release from isolation 2
„ return cases they gave rise to 2
,, infecting cases per cent. of total home cases 2.9
„ return cases per cent, of total home cases 2.9
II. Hospital Cases.—Approximately 448.
(a) No. of infecting cases giving rise to return cases not longer than
28 days after discharge 21
„ return cases they gave rise to 27
„ infecting cases per cent, of total hospital cases 4.7
,, return cases per cent, of total hospital cases 6.0
Note.—Two of these return cases occurred after the 28 days, but the
first return case had occurred within the 28 days.
(b) No. of infecting cases giving rise to return cases more than 28
days after discharge 6
„ return cases they gave rise to 6
„ of infecting cases per cent, of total hospital cases 1.3
,, return cases per cent, of total hospital cases 1.3
Small Pox.—9 cases of Small Pox were notified in 1930 as against 47 in the previous year.
8 cases were nursed in the Willesden Small Pox Hospital, Kingsbury, and 1 was admitted to
the Small Pox Hospital of the London County Council.
The disease was again of the mild type. All patients recovered.
The first two cases occurred at the beginning of February, one in the Willesden Green area
and the other in Stonebridge.
There were no further cases till the beginning of April, when two cases in one family came to
light at Neasden, the rashes of the two patients appearing on consecutive days.
The next three cases appeared in Kilburn during the latter part of May and beginning of
June. Two of these were in one family, the second case contracting the disease from the first, who
was her husband.
At the end of June an isolated case appeared in Harlesden. Previous cases of Small Pox
had occurred at this patient's workplace outside Willesden.
The last case occurred in September in an elderly patient who had been in contact outside
Willesden with relatives suffering from Small Pox.
Of the 9 patients 7 were unvaccinated. One of these, aged 35 years, was stated to have been
unsuccessfully vaccinated 3 times in infancy. 1 patient was a contact vaccinated for the first time
the day following the first patient's removal to Hospital, 7 days after the appearance of the rash,
12 days after the onset, and 5 days before the onset of her own illness. The ninth patient, aged 66
years, had been successfully vaccinated in infancy.
During 1930, 2,511 visits of supervision were paid to Small Pox contacts residing or working
in Willesden.
No vaccinations were performed by the Medical Officer of Health under the Public Health
(Small Pox Prevention) Regulations, 1917.
In connection with the infectivity of the disease it is of interest to note that one of the patients
after remaining in bed during the first 3 days of his illness, on the 4th day played in a football match
at which 6 of the players at least were unvaccinated, and played in a dance band at an evening function
on the same day, visited a family of 5 people on the 5th day, returned to clerical workjon the 6th day,
when the rash appeared, and continued at work on the 7th and 8th days, all without as far as could
be ascertained infecting anybody.