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53
OPHTHALMIA NEONATORUM
This disease, the duty of notifying which was, under the Public Health
(Ophthalmia Neonatorum) Regulations, 1926, placed solely upon the medical practitioner
in charge of the case, consists of a purulent discharge from the eye of an infant
occurring within 21 days of birth.
In about 70 per cent. of cases the infection is gonorrhoeal in nature, and in these
cases it is usually due to infection from the generative tract during birth. The ideal
method of treatment is removal of the child and the mother to hospital.

Of the six patients who were removed to hospital, 2 were treated at
St. Margaret's Hospital, 1 at Royal Free Hospital, 2 at St. Leonard's Hospital and
1 at City of London Maternity Hospital. Of the nine patients treated at home seven
attended other hospitals as out-patients. The case rate per 1,000 births was 12.28 as
compared with 8.33 for London as a whole.
In addition to these cases of ophthalmia neonatorum 27 cases of inflammation
of the eyes were reported by the Medical Officer of Health of the London County
Council. Of these three were subsequently notified as ophthalmia neonatorum and
are included in the above table.
CEREBRO-SPINAL FEVER
Five cases of this disease occurred in the Borough during the year. The patients
were males aged 7, 9, 22 and 23 years, and one female aged 3 months. These cases
were evidently sporadic in nature. The diagnosis was subsequently altered to scarlet
fever in respect of the male aged 7 years.