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 1945
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Ilford]
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Infectious Disease .—The following table shows the incidence of infectious diseases in the Ilford schools since 1940:—
| Scarlet Fever. | Diphtheria | Measlee and German Measles | Chicken Pox. | Mumps. | Whooping Cough. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 53 | 30 | 341 | 73 | 6 | 55 |
| 1941 | 107 | 14 | 1,401 | 214 | 21 | 495 |
| 1942 | 300 | 7 | 980 | 404 | 373 | 176 |
| 1943 | 386 | 30 | 1,402 | 399 | 369 | 221 |
| 1944 | 183 | 25 | 968 | 252 | 29 | 412 |
| 1945 | 133 | 39 | 1,070 | 183 | 85 | 222 |
* Of this number 1,066 were notified as measles.
Disinfection of all the cloakrooms at the public elementary schools was
carried out during the Summer and Winter vacations.
No schools were closed during the year on account of infectious disease.
Table VII shows the incidence of infectious disease in the Ilford
schools during 1945.
95 home visits were paid by the Health Visitors to cases of minor
infectious disease. In addition the Sanitary Inspectors paid 1,066 visits
to measles cases, and 222 visits to whooping cough cases.
Diphtheria Prevention Clinics.—The following shows the work carried out at Valentines Mansion (75 sessions) and Mayesbrook (52 sessions) Clinics for children of school age during 1945:—
| Valentines. | Mayesbrook. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Schick tested | 52 | 54 | ||
| Positive | 33 | 19 | ||
| Negative | 19 | 35 | ||
| Inoculated (full course) | 92 | 104 | ||
| Schick + 1944 | 1 | — | ||
| Schick + 1945 | 19 | 12 | ||
| Not tested | 72 | 92 | ||
| Negative after full course of inoculation | 72 | 69 | ||
| Positive after full course of inoculation and re-inoculated | 4 | 7 | ||
| Awaiting re-test | 9 | 23 | ||
| Not re-tested after inoculation on account of leaving district, etc. | 7 | 5 | ||
| Result of final Schick test in 1945 of cases inoculated in 1944: | ||||
| Valentines. | Mayesbrook. | |||
| Positive and re-inoculated | 1 | 2 | ||
| Negative | 9 | 8 | ||
270 individual children were treated (121 at Newbury Hall and 149
at Mayesbrook) making 1,717 attendances (749 and 968 respectively).
Since June, 1932, children under 8 years of age have not been Schick
tested prior to immunisation, unless there was some particular reason to
suppose that the child might give a combined reaction to the Schick test.
Since the first introduction of immunisation against Diphtheria in Ilford
in 1929, 11,310 children of school age, and 19,570 children under school aga
have been immunised.