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
Wood Green 1958
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wood Green]
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general practitioners again asking them to advocate vaccination
as strongly as possible.
The percentage of children in Wood Green who reached the age
of two at the end of 1958 vaccinated against smallpox was 74%.
Tuberculos is
Seventy-five cases of tuberculosis (66 pulmonary and 9 nonpulmonary)
were notified during the year, as against 47 in 1957,
Of the 75 cases, 42 were transferred from other districts, 33
being new cases.
A broad classification of the cases notified during the past five years in relation to employment was:-
| 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clerical | 16 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Manual Labour | 14 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| Housewives | 20 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Factory workers | 7 | - | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Children | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | - |
| Professional classes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Domestic Service | - | 2 | - | 1 | 1 |
| Nurses | - | 1 | - | - | - |
| Shop Assistants | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Armed Forces | - | 2 | - | - | 1 |
| Retired Persons | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Unclassified | 8 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 8 |
| 81 | 56 | 37 | 25 | 33 |
The number of cases on the register at the end of the year was as follows -
| Pulmonary | 331 males | Non pulmonary | 15 males |
| 262 females | 48 females | ||
| Total | 593 | 63 |
It will be seen that the number of cases of tuberculosis
notified during the past five years has dropped considerably,
from 81 to 33. These figures have a limited significance in view
of the short period covered and the low totals involved, They are,
however, useful as a basis of comparison.
The death rate from tuberculosis for Wood Green has dropped
from 0.12 per thousand of the population in 1957,. when we were the
fourth highest in the County, to 0 08 per thousand of the population;
the seventh highest in the County, and only slightly higher
than the County rate of 0 07.
The B.C. G. vaccination scheme for schoolchildren in the
thirteen-year-old age group referred to in earlier reports is
still making excellent progress. Although this work is in point
of fact part of the school health services provided by the Middlesex
County Council as the Local Health Authority for Wood Green,
I felt that it warranted further mention here as a very definite
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