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
Shoreditch 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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The result of the examination of these is given in the following table:—
| No. of sample. | Designation of milk. | No. of bacteria per c.cm. | Presence of coliform bacillus. | Remarks. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Pasteurised | 279,000 | Present in 1/10 c.c. | Unsatisfactory. |
| 31 | ,, | 124,900 | ,, | |
| 32 | ,, | 119,000 | ,, | ,, |
| 33 | ,,,, | 110,900 | ,, | ,, |
| 34 | ,, | 130,900 | ,, | ,, |
| 57 | ,,, | 170,900 | ,, | ,, |
| 58 | ,, | 136,000 | ,, | ,, |
| 70 | ,, | 263,600 | ,, | ,, |
| 71 | ,, | 208,600 | ,, | ,, |
| 72 | ,, | 296,000 | ,, | ,, |
| 73 | ,, | 260,000 | ,, | ,, |
| 85 | ,, | 149,000 | ,, | ,, |
Of the 12 samples which did not comply with the order, 2 were taken from
dairymen in the Borough, and 10 from wholesalers outside Shoreditch who were
delivering milk in this district. Warnings were issued to the offending Shoreditch
dairymen, and in the other cases details were furnished to the district concerned.
Of the remaining 48 samples, six were "Grade A (T.T.)" milk and the remainder
were "Pasteurised" milk. None of the samples of "Grade A (T.T.)" showed the
presence of B. coli in 1/10 c.c., and the total counts were 860, 2,460, 3,670, 33,100,
131,000 and 95,000 per c.cm. respectively. Of the 42 samples of "Pasteurised" milk
which complied with the prescribed standards 10 showed B. coli in 1/10 c.c.
The total counts of these 10 samples are shown in the following table:—
| Below 1,000. | Below 10,000. | Below 20,000. | Below 50,000. | Below 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| In all the others B. coli was absent in 1/10 c.c. The total counts of these 32 samples are shown in the following table:— | ||||
| Below 1,000. | Below 10,000. | Below 20,000. | Below 50,000. | Below 100,000 |
| — | 14 | 10 | 6 | 2 |
Undesignated Milk.
During the year 25 samples of undesignated milk were submitted for bacteriological
examination. Of these 25 samples, 5 were from individual cows in the
Borough. B. coli was absent in 1/10 c.c. in all of these samples. The total counts
in these 5 samples were all between 3,000 and 11,000.
A sample of milk taken from an individual cow was found to contain pus cells,
and the udder appeared to be abnormal. The advice of a veterinary surgeon was