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 1949
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Walthamstow]
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The Registrar-General gives the statistics for the 52 weeks ended 31st December, 1949, 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 | 182 | — | 6 | 101 | 17 | 34 |
| Case rate :— England and Wales | 1.63 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.80 | Not available | 0.19 |
| Walthamstow | 1.47 | — | 0.04 | 0.81 | 0.13 | 0.27 |
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. When calculated on this basis the rate is :—
| Walthamstow | 9.12 | ||||
| England and Wales | 6.31 | ||||
| Disease. | Total notified. | Removed to Hospital. | Per cent, removed to Hospital. | Deaths. | Deaths per cent, of cases notified. |
| Scarlet Fever | 182 | 78 | 42.8 | — | — |
| Diphtheria | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diphtheria Observation | 20 | 20 | 100.0 | — | — |
| Typhoid Fever | 2 | 2 | 100.0 | — | — |
| Paratyphoid Fever | 4 | 4 | 100.0 | — | — |
| Pneumonia | 101 | 45 | 44.5 | 67 | 66.3 |
| Erysipelas | 34 | 3 | 8.8 | — | — |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 17 | 1 | 5.8 | — | — |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | — | — |
| Encephalitis Lethargica. | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cerebro-spinalMeningitis | 3 | 3 | 100.0 | — | — |
| Anterior Poliomyelitis | 18 | 17 | 94.4 | 3 | 16.6 |
| Polio-encephalitis | 1 | I | 100.0 | 1 | 100.0 |
| Measles | 1550 | 31 | 2.0 | — | — |
| Whooping Cough | 226 | 18 | 7.9 | 1 | 0.4 |
| Dysentery | 3 | 2 | 66.6 | — | — |
| Food Poisoning | 15 | 2 | 13.3 | — | — |
| Tuberculosis (all Forms) | 158 | n/a | n/a | 52 | 32.9 |
PUERPERAL PYREXIA
Seventeen cases of Puerperal Pyrexia cases were notified during
1949. The notifications were received from the following sources :
Maternity Hospital 12
Hospital outside the area 4
General Practitioners 1