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
Kingston upon Thames 1923
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston-upon-Thames]
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7
Causes of Sickness.
Scarlet Fever and Diphtheria.
The decline in the number of Scarlet Fever cases notified
is satisfactory.
The remarkable fall in the number of Diphtheria cases
is not easily explained, only 17 being notified during the
year.
There were three periods of 10 weeks each, during
which no case of diphtheria was notified. Investigations
failed to establish any connection between cases occurring
before these intervals with those arising to terminate them,
so the 10 weeks elapsing in each instance appears to be a
coincidence.
The following table gives the number of cases notified during the last five years:—
| Year. | Scarlet Fever. | Diphtheria. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | 98 | 142 | 240 |
| 1920 | 139 | 82 | 221 |
| 1921 | 302 | 79 | 381 |
| 1922 | 238 | 74 | 312 |
| 1923 | 118 | 17 | 135 |
Measles.
Apart from a small outbreak of Measles at Richmond
Road Infants' School in June, the Schools have enjoyed a
year of comparative freedom from infectious disease and
there was no School closure.
Influenza.
Influenza made its appearance just before the close of
the year. The doctors report that it is of the three days'
fever type with sudden onset, and the chief symptoms are
headache, myalgic pains, nausea, and cough. Intense depression
and weakness seem to be the common results of
an attack and fortunately pneumonic complications appear
to be rare.