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 1954
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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SCARLET FEVER. Two-hundred-and-twenty-five cases (115 males and 110 females)
of scarlet fever were notified during the year, this being a decrease of 188 cases on
the previous year. No deaths occurred from this disease.
MEASLES. Unlike the preceding year, there was no evidence of epidemic incidence,
only 71 cases (37 males and 34 females) being notified compared with 2,428 in 1953. No
death from measles occurred and the incidence of associated complications was low.
WHOOPING COUGH. As with measles, the incidence throughout the year remained low;
163 cases (76 males and 87 females) in comparison with 746 of the previous year. No
death from this disease was reported during the year.
The following table shows the Age Incidence and the Case Rate per 1,000 population of the above diseases
| Age | Scarlet Fever | Measles | Whooping Cough | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | - | 8 | 13 | ||
| 1 - 4 years | 77 | 42 | 73 | ||
| 5-9 years | 126 | 16 | 74 | ||
| 10 - 14 years | 15 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Over 15 years | 7 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Case Rate/1000 population | 1.23 | 0.42 | 0.97 | ||
DIPHTHERIA. One case of this disease occurred during the year. A schoolgirl aged
12 years was admitted to hospital following bacteriological examination of a throat swab
taken by the private practitioner. The organism isolated was later confirmed by virulence
tests to be C. diphtheria-intermedius strain. The child, unimmunised as an infant but
stated by the parent to have received only one injection on entering the primary school,
was a mild case and made an uninterrupted recovery. Nose and throat swabs taken from all
immediate family contacts proved negative.
In December, several contacts, at work, of a further case of diphtheria - an adult
woman - living in a neighbouring borough but employed in West Ham were routinely swabbed.
All these proved negative on bacteriological examination.
MENINGOCOCCAL INFECTION. Eight cases (5 males and 3 females) of this disease were
notified and confirmed on bacteriological examination of the cerebro-spinal fluid. The
age incidence ranged from 4 months to 5 years, three cases occurring In children aged one
year and under.
No deaths were registered from this disease.
ACUTE POLIOMYELITIS. There were 8 cases (5 paralytic and 3 non-paralytic) notified
and confirmed during the year as compared with 22 cases in the previous year. Ten other
suspected cases were reported during the year but were not confirmed as such.
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