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 1951
[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, 1951, 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 | 118 | – | 2 | 84 | 43 | 33 |
| Case rate — | ||||||
| England and Wales | 1.11 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.99 | Not available | 0.14 |
| Walthamstow | 0.98 | – | 0.01 | 0.69 | 0.35 | 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 25.67
England and Wales 10.66
The rate for Walthamstow has been high because of the strict
ness of notification at the Maternity Hospital, i.e., cases are notified
which in other areas would probably not be notified.
SCARLET FEVER
A total of 118 cases of Scarlet Fever was notified during 1951
as compared with 181 in 1950.
The incidence by months and wards is given below :—
January 13
February 8
March 11
April 10
May 9
June 9
St. James Street 14
High Street 8
Hoe Street 19
July 2
August 5
September 8
October 16
November 10
December 17
Wood Street 16
Hale End 34
Higham Hill 27
The last fatal case of scarlet fever occurred in 1936 and since
then up to the end of 1951 there have been 3,819 notified cases
without fatality.
DIPHTHERIA
During 1951, 11 cases were notified but none was confirmed
following observation in hospital. There has been no death from
Diphtheria in the Borough for five years.