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
Walthamstow 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Walthamstow]
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| Disease. | Total notified. | Removed to Hospital. | Per cent. removed to Hospital. | Deaths. | Deaths per cent. of cases notified. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Fever | 315 | 287 | 91.1 | 1 | 0.31 |
| Diphtheria | 106 | 101 | 95.2 | 2 | 1.8 |
| Enteric Fever | 8 | 7 | 87.5 | Nil | Nil |
| Pneumonia | 151 | 51 | 33.7 | 73 | 48.3 |
| Puerperal Fever | 5 | 5 | 100.0 | Nil | Nil |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 30 | 8* | 26.0 | 1 | 3.3 |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 2 | 1 | 50.0 | 1 | 50.0 |
| Erysipelas | 52 | 16 | 30.7 | Not a cl assified cause of death | |
| Polio-encephalitis | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | Nil | Nil |
| Cerebro-spinalMeningitis | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 1 | 100.0 |
| Anterior Poliomyelitis.. | 5 | 4 | 80.0 | 1 | 20.0 |
| Measles (under 5 years).. | 671 | 52 | 7.7 | 8 | 1.19 |
| Dysentery | 5 | 1 | 20.0 | Nil | Nil |
| Tuberculosis | 141 | 170f | 87 | 61.7 | |
*In addition, many of the cases were already in Hospital.
†This figure also includes cases notified during previous years.
Infectious Diseases Clinic.—The weekly clinic on Tuesday
at 2 p.m. was continued, and all the children of school age who
had been close contacts with cases of infectious diseases were seen
prior to their return to school.
As in previous years, all children discharged from the Isolation
Hospital or after home isolation for infectious disease were seen,
and particular care was taken to refer all cases with any suspicion
of rheumatism or of cardiac defect to the next rheumatism clinic.
The following extract is from Dr. Sheldon's report on the
rheumatism clinic:—
“Prevention.—During the year the practice of following up
children who have been discharged from the Sanatorium after Scarlet
Fever and Diphtheria has been continued. Twenty-four children
were referred to the clinic in this way, and of these, 14 were judged
to have some cardiac disability. Were this follow up system not
in existence, it is fair to assume that these 14 children would have
run a risk of considerable and permanent cardiac injury, whereas
by getting their trouble dealt with in its early stage it is probable
that they will be spared from some degree of heart disease."