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
Harrow 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Harrow]
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53
PREVALENCE OF AND CONTROL OVER
INFECTIOUS AND OTHER DISEASES
| Disease | Und. 1 yr. | 1-4 yrs. | 5-9 yrs. | 10-14 yrs. | 15-19 yrs. | 20-24 yrs. | 25-34 yrs. | 35-44 yrs. | 45-54 yrs. | 55-64 yrs. | 65 & over | Age unknown | Total |
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CONTROL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Notification.
Although some measures to control the spread of certain infectious
diseases had been practised in this country for a long time and, although
much later, authorities were given powers to provide isolation hospitals
for the reception and treatment of some of the infectious sick, it was not
until 1889 that some of the infectious diseases were made notifiable
and then only in certain parts of the country. It was not until
the Infectious Disease Notification (Extension) Act of 1899 that
a number of diseases became notifiable throughout the country.
This list of diseases included smallpox, cholera, diphtheria,
erysipelas, scarlet fever, typhus fever, typhoid fever, puerperal fever.
These diseases were all communicable in some way and they
could all be serious. It is this latter character perhaps that differentiated
them from a number of the communicable complaints which
children more especially suffer from, such as chickenpox and mumps.
In the case of some of the notifiable diseases it was possible to take steps
to limit the spread of infection; it may be that it was the apparent
inability to take any such action which led to such diseases as whooping
cough and measles, which are so very damaging to small children, being
omitted from the list. During this century, a number of other diseases
have been made notifiable by regulation. Some of these have been
brought in perhaps because later it was appreciated that something could
be done either for the sufferer or with a view to limiting the spread of
infection. Others have been brought in possibly because a temporary
increase in incidence has led to more attention being given to an infection
which up to then had not been very prevalent. The result is that to-day.