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 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Walthamstow]
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| January | 21 | July | 15 |
| February | 23 | August | 10 |
| March | 12 | September | 19 |
| April | 13 | October | 2 |
| May | 21 | November | 5 |
| June | 41 | December | 7 |
| St. James Street | 26 | Wood Street | 27 |
| High Street | 26 | Hale End | 33 |
| Hoe Street | 29 | Higham Hill | 48 |
The age incidence compared with previous years was as follows:—
| Under l yr. | 1-2 yrs. | 2-3 yrs. | 3-4 yrs. | 4-5 yrs. | Over 5 yrs. | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 70 | 102 | 74 | 84 | 76 | 159 | 565 |
| 1949 | 21 | 29 | 42 | 30 | 33 | 71 | 226 |
| 1950 | 27 | 40 | 68 | 82 | 58 | 227 | 502 |
| 1951 | 47 | 70 | 110 | 101 | 140 | 274 | 742 |
| 1952 | 18 | 15 | 32 | 22 | 19 | 83 | 189 |
One death occurred in a female child of two years, who died
in hospital and who was not immunised against whooping cough.
A follow-up of notified cases of whooping cough, started late
in 1951, shows that the classification of severity during the years
1951/2 was as follows:—
(Some visits were ineffective.)
| Year | Classification | Information not available | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |||
| 1951 | - | - | 1 | 35 | 13 | 7 | 3 | - | 59 |
| 1952 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 100 | 40 | 7 | - | 3 | 157 |
The classification is in accordance with the scheme suggested
by the Medical Research Council in their Whooping Cough Trials,
and the assessment of severity is as follows:—
0—No clinically recognisable Stage A or Stage B (or
history thereof).
1—Recognisable (clinical, bacteriological or cytological)
Stage A, but no Stage B.