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
West Ham 1926
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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69
Scarlet Fever.—The total number of cases under treatment
was 966, which is 496 more than in the previous year.
Of these, 803 were discharged recovered, 6 died, and 157 remained
under treatment at the end of the year. In one of the
fatal cases acute nephritis was the contributory cause of death;
the other 5 fatal cases were all of the septic type. The fatality
rate was .66 percent. of the admissions.
In 64 cases the disease was complicated by the presence of other infections as follows: —
| Scarlet Fever with Diphtheria | 21 cases. |
| ,, ,, ,, Measles | 19 „ |
| „ „ „ Whooping Cough . | 7 „ |
| „ „ ,, Mumps | 5 „ |
| „ ,, Chickenpox | 12 „ |
55 cases admitted as Scarlet Fever proved to be wrongly
diagnosed, and were found after admision to be suffering from
the following diseases: —
Diphtheria 4, Measles 13, Rubella 12, Erythema 4, Chickenpox
2, Septic Rash 2, Tonsillitis 7, Pneumonia 2, Scabies 2,
Ulcerative Pharyngitis 1, Tubercular Meningitis 1, Catarrhal
Jaundice 1, Food Poisoning 1, Puerperal Fever 1, Urticaria 1,
No disease 1.
Ten cases admitted as Diphtheria were found to be suffering
from Scarlet Fever.
Complications .—Of the 803 cases discharged during the year, 251, or 30.25 per cent., suffered from complications as follows: —
| Arthritis | 20 cases or 2.49 percent. |
| Albuminuria | 36 „ 4.60 ,, |
| Nephritis | 14 „ 1.74 ,, |
| Otorrhœa | 49 „ 6.10 ,, |
| Adenitis | 95 „ 11.83 ,, |
| Rhinitis | 25 „ 3.11 ,, |
| Vaginal Discharge | 8 ,, 0.99 ,, |
| Pericarditis | 2 „ 0.24 „ |
| Jaundice | 2 „ 0.24 „ |
The average duration of residence of all the cases was
40.1 days.
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