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
Tottenham 1959
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Tottenham]
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As a result of this experiment the medical officer concerned is of the opinion that this is
not a substitute for periodic medical inspections.
Infectious Diseases in School Children, 1959
Unlike the previous year, 1959 was an eventful year from the point of view of infection.
There was, in the early months of the year the usual biennial visitation of measles, over 700
cases being notified in school children.
Poliomyelitis During the summer term there was an outbreak of poliomyelitis in school
and pre-school children. In all 13 cases of paralytic poliomyelitis and nine non-paralytic cases
were notified. Details of the vaccinal state of these children are given below. It can be seen
that only one fully vaccinated child developed paralytic poliomyelitis and in this case the third
injection was almost certainly given while the child was incubating the infection.
As some 60% of school and Dre- school children in Tottenham and Hornsey are vaccinated, these figures are suggestive of a protective effect.
| Not vaccinated | One dose | Two doses | Three doses | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paralytic poliomyelitis | 9 | 3 | - | 1 | 13 |
| Non-paralytic poliomyelitis | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Total | 14 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 22 |
Of the paralytic cases four, including the fully vaccinated boy, made an almost complete
recovery, two removed from the district, four were left with weakness in one limb, and three preschool
children were sufficiently handicapped as to make it likely that they will need to attend
a special school.
Dysentery. Cases occurred sporadically over both boroughs during the year. In one
school in Hornsey and another in Tottenham there was an explosive outbreak in the spring term
which smouldered on for some time despite the usual measures taken to control it. Family
doctors were notified of the outbreak and of the fact that the organism concerned was resistant
to the sulphonamide drugs, the usual form of treatment.
Tuberculosis. There were nine cases of tuberculosis in school children over the whole
Area, seven pulmonary, one of bone and one of eyes. The figure nine is misleading, however,
as only five of these were new cases, the others being flare-ups of old infection or inward
transfers. The five bona-fide new cases compare with six in 1958 and three in 1957. These
cases were discussed with the appropriate Chest Physicians and in one case epidemiological
investigation was considered necessary at the school, X-ray of all adult members of teaching and
ancillary staff being recommended. All were X-rayed and found to be clear.
B.C.G. Vaccination. Possibly because of the effort involved in promoting poliomyelitis
vaccination, the B.C.G. vaccination figures were not quite as impressive in 1959 as in previous
years.