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 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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The number of accepted cases was therefore 797. A scarlatiniform
rash was present in 74 per cent. of the cases on the day of
admission, but 27 per cent. of these did not show any desquamation
afterwards. Eight per cent. of the admissions had no rash
or desquamation during their period of residence, and of these
cases five developed scarlet fever in the wards. In six cases a
relapse occurred during the second and third week of illness.
At the beginning of the year there were in residence 77
patients suffering from scarlet fever, making a total of 874 cases
under treatment. Of these, 777 were discharged, 2 died, and 95
remained under treatment at the end of the year.
Age distribution. The age incidence of the 797 patients
who were accepted as suffering from scarlet fever is Shown in
Table IV.
Table IV.
Scarlet fever. Age incidence of hospital cases.
| Age (years) | Number of cases. | Percent. |
|---|---|---|
| Under I | 7 | 0.88 |
| 1 | 251 | 31.49 |
| 5 | 342 | 42.92 |
| 10 | 110 | 13.80 |
| 15 | 39 | 4.89 |
| 20 | 48 | 6.02 |
| All ages | 797 | 100.00 |
The duration of illness on the day of admission is shown
in Table V.
Table V. Scarlet Fever.
| Day of illness. | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | Over 7. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of Cases | 47 | 218 | 243 | 125 | 75 | 32 | 20 | 37 |
| Percent.of total | 5.9 | 27.4 | 30.5 | 15.7 | 9.4 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 4.6 |
The average duration of illness on admission was 3.43 days.
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