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 1940
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Walthamstow]
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E.- PREVALENCE OF, AND CONTROL OVER, INFECTIOUS & OTHER DISEASES.
GENERAL.- The accompanying tables show the ago and ward incidence of the various infectious diseases which are discussed separately in later pages of the Report:-
| Disease | All Ages | under lYr. | 1-5 yrs. | 5-15 yrs. | 15-25 yrs. | 25-45 yrs. | 45-65 yrs. | 65 & over | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 1939 | |||||||||
| Scarlet Fever | 89 | 192 | 24 | 47 | 7 | 8 | 1 | - | ||
| Diphtheria | 17 | 35 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 2 | — | - | - | |
| Enteric Fever | 3 | 3 | - | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | - | |
| Pneumonia | 90 | 147 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 26 | 27 | 12 | |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 35 | 38 | - | - | - | 5 | 30 | , | - | |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 4 | 5 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Erysipelas | 27 | 54 | - | - | - | 1 | 7 | 15 | 4 | |
| Encephalitis Lethargic | 5 | - | - | - | — | - | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
| Polio- encephalitis | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Cerebro-spinal Meningitis | 6 | 3 | - | - | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | |
| Anterior Poliomyelitis | 1 | - | - | 1 | — | - | - | - | - | |
| Measles | 78 | 10 | 6 | 36 | 28 | 8 | - | - | - | |
| Whooping Cough | 14 | - | 2 | 7 | 4 | - | 1 | - | - | |
| Dysentery | 1 | 3 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Tuberculosis | 156 | 141 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 43 | 67 | 22 | 5 | |
| Totals | 1940 | 526 | - | 13 | 91 | 103 | 32 | 141 | 39 | 22 |
| 1939 | - | 531 | 13 | 74 | 176 | 101 | 145 | 87 | 34 | |
Continued from previous page...
| Disease | St.James Street | High Street | Hoe Street | Wood Street | Hale End | Higham Hill | Totals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Fever | 8 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 35 | 22 | 89 | |
| Diphtheria | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 17 | |
| Enteric Fever | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 3 | |
| Pneumonia | 23 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 23 | 15 | 90 | |
| Puerneral Pyrexia | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 55 | |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | - | 1 | - | - | - | 3 | 4 | |
| Erysipelas | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 27 | |
| Encephalitis Lethargica | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 5 | |
| Polio-encephalitis | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis | - | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 3 | 6 | |
| Anterior Poliomyelitis | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Measles | 5 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 42 | 78 | |
| Whooping Cough | 2 | 4 | - | 1 | - | 7 | 14 | |
| Dysentery | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | ||
| Tuberculosis | 25 | 15 | 33 | 14 | 30 | 39 | 156 | |
| Totals | 1940 | 75 | 56 | 83 | 44 | 120 | 148 | 523 |
| 1939 | 97 | 89 | 106 | 79 | 123 | 137 | 631 | |
The statistics given in the foregoing table are those for the
calendar year 1940.
The Registrar-General gives the statistics for the 52 weeks ended 23th. December 1940, and these are given in the following table together with the case rates per 1,000 population both for England and Wales and for Walthamstow:-
| Disease | Scarlet Fever | Diphtheria | Enteric Fever | Pneumonia | Puerperal pyrexia | Erysipelas |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | 84 | 16 | 3 | 90 | 34 | 27 |
| Case Rate - | ||||||
| Walthamstow | 0.76 | 0.14 | 0.02 | 0.82 | 0.31 | 0.35 |
| England and Wales | 1.63 | 1.16 | 0.07 | 1.20 | (Not available) | 0.33 |
The rate for Puerperal Pyrexia is better expressed in relation
to the number of births (i.e. live and still-births) registered than
to population. Then calculated on this basis the rate is:-
Walthamstow 21.0
England and Hales 11.95
20.