London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Southall 1948

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southall]

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Vaccination.
The total number of successful vaccination certificates during the period 1st January
to 4th July was 217. Table XX in Appendix gives corresponding figures for the past 11
years.
During the period the proportion of successful vaccinations compared with the total
number carried out in 1947 had decreased slightly. On 5th July compulsory vaccination
came to an end, to be superseded by a voluntary scheme whereby parents could have their
children vaccinated at will, and Maternity and Child Welfare Centres were urged to
encourage, by all means of propaganda, that parents should take advantage of the facilities
available.
Disinfection.
In cases of infectious disease, rooms, clothing, etc., were disinfected—rooms by
sealing and fumigating with formalin or a formalin preparation ; clothing, bedding, etc.,
and infected articles which could be removed for steam disinfection, by treatment in the
disinfector at the hospital.

Table H

List of premises, articles, etc., disinfected during the year:—

Rooms129Eiderdowns47
Beds147Pillows218
Blankets283Sheets155
Bolsters35Towels2
Books63Cushions2
Quilts2Rug1
Covers51Articles of clothing27
Scabies Clinic: Bags of clothing3

The following articles were destroyed: 12 mattresses, 1 bolster, 2 pillows, 1 bag of
clothing, 2 cushions, 2 sheets and 6 articles of clothing.
Cancer.
It will be seen by the table of causes of death (page 27) that in 1948 84 cases (48 males
and 36 females) died from cancer. (See Appendix, Tables XXI and XXII.)
Special Infectious Diseases.
Smallpox (Variola).
No patients with smallpox or contacts of cases of smallpox were notified to the Department
during the year. No work was done under the Public Health (Smallpox) Regulations,
1917.
Scarlet Fever (Scarlatina).
The number of notifications received during the year was 110, as compared with 88
for the previous year.
Of these, 70 were removed to the Isolation Hospital.
Diphtheria.
Seven cases of diphtheria were notified to the Health Department, and 6 were admitted
to Southall Isolation Hospital during 1948. Of these, 6 were not confirmed as diphtheria
and therefore there was only 1 confirmed case.
Diphtheria Prevention.
The total number of attendances at the Diphtheria Immunisation Clinic during the
period was 2,105, but a number of the children who attended the Clinic came for 1 injection
only, a booster dose to reinforce previous immunisation. The number of children attending
16