London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kingston upon Thames 1954
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston-upon-Thames]
This page requires JavaScript
The following table gives a comparative statement of notifications of certain infectious diseases received during the last thirty years:-
TABLE VI
| Year | Scarlet Fever | Puerperal Pyrexia | Measles | Whooping Cough | Acute Infective Encephalitis | Poliomyelitis | Enteric Fever (including Para-typhoid) | Diphtheria | Ophthalmia Neonatorum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | 213 | 4 | - Not notifiable - | - Not notifiable - | 3 | 7 | 25 | 5 | |
| 1926 | 82 | 4 | — | 2 | 7 | 27 | 2 | ||
| 1927 | 87 | 9 | — | 1 | 3 | 65 | 3 | ||
| 1928 | 135 | 9 | — | 1 | 7 | 152 | 4 | ||
| 1929 | 74 | 5 | — | — | 1 | 113 | 3 | ||
| 1930 | 78 | 9 | — | — | 5 | 100 | 2 | ||
| 1931 | 61 | 14 | — | 1 | 53 | 4 | |||
| 1932 | 56 | 13 | — | 2 | 1 | 47 | |||
| 1933 | 125 | 10 | — | 3 | 2 | 30 | 2 | ||
| 1934 | 40 | 5 | — | — | 2 | 42 | 3 | ||
| 1935 | 54 | 8 | — | — | 2 | 50 | 3 | ||
| 1936 | 67 | 19 | — | — | 6 | 27 | 2 | ||
| 1937 | 51 | 32 | — | 2 | 1 | 21 | 3 | ||
| 1938 | 61 | 47 | — | 2 | 1 | 72 | 2 | ||
| 1939 | 69 | 66 | — | 1 | 1 | 19 | 3 | ||
| 1940 | 45 | 63 | 373 | 22 | — | 3 | 53 | 3 | |
| 1941 | 54 | 37 | 331 | 271 | — | 1 | 7 | 15 | — |
| 1942 | 79 | 24 | 375 | 99 | — | — | 8 | 3 | |
| 1943 | 110 | 18 | 287 | 151 | — | 1 | 1 | 3 | — |
| 1944 | 49 | 15 | 33 | 73 | — | 1 | — | 7 | 2 |
| 1945 | 28 | 23 | 407 | 84 | — | 1 | - | 16 | 2 |
| 1946 | 34 | 41 | 283 | 67 | — | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| 1947 | 24 | 28 | 219 | 38 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 1948 | 34 | 30 | 197 | 200 | — | 3 | — | — | — |
| 1949 | 73 | 29 | 483 | 81 | 3 | 7 | — | — | — |
| 1950 | 51 | 23 | 132 | 41 | — | 4 | — | — | — |
| 1951 | 37 | 41 | 443 | 222 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 1952 | 29 | 84 | 280 | 102 | — | 3 | — | — | — |
| 1953 | 21 | 80 | 302 | 126 | — | 5 | — | — | — |
| 1954 | 16 L | 96 | 419 | 21 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
Scarlet Fever.
Only sixteen cases of mild scarlet fever were notified,
fourteen of which were of school age. No deaths occurred and
no "return" cases. Only four of the cases notified were
removed to an infectious diseases hospital for treatment and
the remainder were treated at home.
Attention has been drawn in previous reports to the
significant fact that each year now shows a reduction in the
number of cases of scarlet fever occurring, and the relatively
small proportion of such cases which have to be treated in
hospital.
It is to be hoped that the figures for 1954 indicate a
continuation of the tendency for this disease to become
diminished in prevalence and severity.