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
Ilford 1920
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Ilford]
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(e) Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis.—Three cases were notified.
Two were fatal, in spite of serum treatment. A third made a
complete recovery. The origin in two of the cases was obscure;
in the third I found that two of his family had previously died
of the disease, and it is possible that the man himself had been
a "carrier" who had infected two of his family and finally had
developed the complaint himself.
(f) Ophthalmia Neonatorum.—Ten cases were notified in 1920
compared with nine in 1919. Eight of the cases recovered
without any permanent injury to vision. In two cases the children
were left with serious impairment of vision in one eye owing to
corneal opacities.
(g) Acute Influenzal and Acute Primary Pneumonia.—89cases
of Pneumonia (of which 29 occurred in Institutions) were notified
during the year, compared with 46 in 1919.
The following table shows the number of
| Deaths. 1920. | Deaths. 1919. | Deaths. 1918. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Influenza | 28 | 64 | 249 |
| Pneumonia | 47 | 34 | 55 |
2. Zymotic Diseases.—The deaths registered were as
follows:—
Small-pox —
Measles 10
Scarlet Fever 3
Whooping Cough 13
Diphtheria and Croup 13
Enteric Fever 1
Diarrhoea 4
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This gives a Zymotic death-rate for 1920 of .53. per 1,000 of
the population.
The Zymotic death-rate for the previous five years was as
under:—.31 in 1919; .42 in 1918; .93 in 1917; .45 in 1916;
.82 in 1915.