London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Walthamstow 1955
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Walthamstow]
This page requires JavaScript
| Boys | Girls | Per cent. | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number | 86 | 86 | 172 | |
| Heaf positive | 86 | 85 | 99.9 | 171 |
| Heaf negative | — | 1 | 1 | |
| T.J.T. positive | 63 | 42 | 61.0 | 105 |
| T.J.T. negative | 18 | 33 | 29.7 | 51 |
| T.J.T. doubtful | 5 | 11 | 9.3 | 16 |
| Heaf Grade | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Neg. | Total | |
| Heaf | 35 | 65 | 57 | 14 | 1 | 172 |
| T.J.T. negative or doubtful | 21 | 24 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 67 |
It will be seen that whereas 99.9 per cent. of the children gave
a positive reaction to the Heaf Test, only 61 per cent. were positive
to the T.J. Patch Test.
There was no correlation between the grade of reaction of the
Heaf Test and the degree of reaction of the T. J. Test, e.g. out of 14
of Grade IV, three were T.J.T. negative, and 18 were negative out
of 57 with Grade III reactions.
The Tuberculin Jelly Test is therefore a very unreliable method
of eliciting tuberculin sensitivity in 13 year old children.
In addition to the children Heaf Tested, 149 were tested for
conversion by means of the Mantoux Test. All of these were positive
10. INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Notifications from general practitioners of infectious diseases occurring in the 5-14 year age group were as follows:—
| 1955 | 1954 | |
|---|---|---|
| Measles | 577 | 489 |
| Whooping Cough | 45 | 180 |
| Scarlet Fever | 105 | 136 |
| Pneumonia | 7 | 11 |
| Bacillary Dysentery | 8 | 108 |
| Tuberculosis— | 2 | — |
| Food Poisoning | 3 | 3 |
| Poliomyelitis | 9 | — |
| Meningococcal Infection | — | 2 |
| Encephalitis | — | 1 |
| Paratyphoid | 1 | — |
| 757 | 930 |