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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
Woolwich 1956
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Woolwich]
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TABLE No. 15
NOTIFICATION OP INFECTIOUS DISEASES (EXCLUDING TUBERCULOSIS) 1956
| DISEASES | Under 1 year | 1-5 years | 5-10 years | 10-15 years | 15-35 years | 35-45 years | 45-65 years | 65 and over | Age Unknown | Total | Total No. admitted to Hospital |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diphtheria | — | - | - | — | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Scarlet Fever | - | 27 | 74 | 10 | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | 114 | 11 |
| Paratyphoid Fever | - | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | 5 | 5 |
| Meningococcal Infection | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 7 | 7 |
| Poliomyelitis | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 6 | 6 |
| Erysipelas | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 6 | 5 | - | 14 | 4 |
| Dysentery | 14 | 119 | 166 | 66 | 71 | 28 | 30 | 16 | 14 | 524 | 47 |
| Zymotic Enteritis | 8 | 18 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 48 | 22 |
| Scabies | - | 2 | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - |
| Pneumonia | 3 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 22 | 25 | - | 78 | 11 |
| Food Poisoning | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 7 | 1 |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | - | - | - | - | 75 | 11 | - | - | 2 | 88 | 88 |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | 8 |
| Whooping Cough | 27 | 80 | 85 | 10 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 4 | 208 | 17 |
| Measles | 13 | 120 | 86 | 2 | 8 | - | - | - | 5 | 234 | 31 |
| Typhoid Fever | - | - | - | — | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Malaria | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| Encephalitis | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | - |
DIPHTHERIA
Seven persons were admitted to hospital as being suspected cases
of diphtheria. However, there was no confirmed case, final diagnoses
being tonsillitis 5, glandular fever 1 and impetigo 1.
SONNE DYSENTERY
During 1956 there was a large increase in the incidence of sonne
dysentery, this disease accounting for twice as many notifications as
any other infectious disease notified. There were altogether 524
notified cases, compared with 33 in the previous year. The cases were
generally mild. Over 50 patients were admitted to hospital but
there were no deaths.
A large proportion of persons notified were school children. In
such circumstances the common mode of transmission by contact infection
is not easy to counter. However, by bacteriological investigation of
50