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
Bromley 1942
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bromley]
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One of the features of the Health statistics of the
past year has been the comparatively low incidence of
the common types of infectious diseases and, apart from
scarlet fever, measles and whooping cough, the number
of cases would have been almost negligible.
Scarlet Fever.
One hundred and four cases were notified in 1942,
producing an incidence rate of 2.06 per thousand civilian
population. There was no mortality. Of the 101 cases,
81 were admitted to hospital and equivalent to 78X. coinpared
with 77% for the previous year. The following
tabulation shows the number of children in families in
which cases occurred, and how the cases were disposed
of, from which one may draw the conclusion that more
cases might well have been isolated for home treatment
without detriment to the control of spread infection.
It is noteworthy that out, of 23 home nursed cases only one secondary case arose, and out of 81 hospital cases there were 8 " return cases."
| Home Nursed Cases. | Cases admitted to Hospital. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Secondary cases arising therefrom. | No. | " Return Casas." | |
| 1 child in family | 9 | — | 22 | - |
| 2 children in family | 10 | 1 | 25 | 2 |
| 3 children in family | 3 | — | 12 | 2 |
| 4 children in family | 1 | — | 7 | 2 |
| 5 children in family | — | — | 2 | — |
| 8 children in family | — | — | 3 | 2 |
| 9 children in family | — | — | 2 | — |
| Adult cases with no children in family | - | - | 5 | - |
| Adult cases with one child in family | - | - | 2 | — |
| Adult cases with five 'children in family | - | — | 1 | — |
| Total | 23 | 1 | 81 | 8 |
Diphtheria.
Fifteen cases were notified during 1942 compared
with 31 in 1941. One case died.
Much publicity has been carried out in this area to
stimulate the need for immunisation and the Health
Visitors have, in accordance with the wish of the Ministry
of Health, concentrated on making special visits of
inquiry at the addresses of all children between 1 and
5 years of age who .have not been immunised.