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
Southall 1960
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southall]
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this he submits the following figures, which refer only to Indians sent to the Clinic by their general practitioners.
| Under 1 year | 1-4 | 5-15 | Over 15 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tested | - | 1 | 23 | 208 | 232 |
| Negative | — | 1 | 8 | 60 | 69 |
| Positive | — | — | 4 | 112 | 116 |
| Vaccinated | — | 1 | 8 | 60 | 69 |
Of those originally skin tested, 47 failed to return to the Clinic for reading of the test.
With regard to prevention and early detection of cases, contacts both at home and
factory or workshop should have regular X-rays and/or Tuberculin Tests. Full use
should continue to be made of the Mass X-ray Unit's visits to the Borough.
Cancer
It will be seen by the table of causes of death (page 55) that in 1960 118 cases (70
males and 48 females) died from cancer. See Appendix, Table VI, for an analysis of
cancer deaths since 1936.
Overleaf is set out in tabular form a classification of the cancer deaths according
to the site of the primary growth and in ages.
The total number of deaths from cancer in 1960 rose, being 118 as compared with
115 in 1959. Cancer of the lung in males, still the highest individual figure for site of
disease, was three less than in 1959, and five less than in 1958.
Distribution of Infectious Disease Notifications
For the incidence of various infectious diseases notified during the year, under age
groups and locality, see Appendix, Tables VII and VIII.
Infectious Disease Visits
During the year, the Public Health Inspectors paid 405 visits with reference to cases
of infectious disease. In addition, the County Health Visitors did a certain amount
of home and school visiting in connection with infectious diseases.
Laboratory Work
Specimens taken for bacteriological or chemical investigations, in connection
particularly with infectious disease cases, are brought daily to the Manor House and
transported to the Ealing Public Health Laboratory. The necessary investigations are
carried out and results reported simultaneously to the Medical Officer of Health and to
the doctor who has submitted the specimen from one of his patients. Details of the
work carried out in 1960 are as follows:—
Faeces specimens 421
Sputum specimens 4
Blood specimens 29
Urine specimens 43
Swabs (nose, throat and vaginal) 51
Papilloma 1
Fluid from mouth 1
Disinfection and Disinfestation
In cases of infectious disease, rooms, clothing, etc., were disinfected—rooms by
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