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
Carshalton 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Carshalton]
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The number of persons successfully treated and recorded under these arrangements during 1953 was as follows:—
| Age at 31st Dec., 1953 | Under 1 yr. | 1-4 yrs. | 5-14 yrs. | 15 yrs. & over. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 106 | 98 | 8 | 29 | 241 | |
| At Clinics | 125 | 98 | 1 | – | 224 |
| 231 | 196 | 9 | 29 | 465 | |
| 1 | 6 | 10 | 45 | 62 | |
| At Clinics | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1 | 6 | 10 | 45 | 62 |
In addition the following unsuccessful attempts at vaccination were made:
| Age at 31st December, 1953 | Under lyr. | 1-4 yrs. | 5-14 yrs. | 15 yrs. & over. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 12 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 29 |
| Re-vaccination | – | 5 | 4 | 16 | 25 |
| 12 | 19 | 5 | 18 | 54 |
Enteric Fever
Two cases of typhoid fever were notified in two sisters aged 7 and
11 years. They were infected whilst on holiday on the Continent and
developed the illness after return to their home. Both were admitted to
hospital and recovered, one of them after a relapse in the sixth week,
which necessitated a further course of treatment by chloramphenicol.
Dysentery
Sixty-five cases of dysentery, nearly all of which were confirmed
bacteriologically as Sonne infectious, were notified. Of these, 13 occurred
in hospital patients not residents of Carshalton and 52 among residents.
Most of them came to notice as a result of investigations into domestic
contacts of single notified cases. The ease with which this intestinal
infection spreads under the conditions of close personal contact in
family life is indicated by the fact that only 14 of the 52 cases among
residents were single cases, the remaining 38 occurring in groups of two
to five in the same families. All the cases recovered. More than half of
them occurred in the first ten days of the year and were a continuation
of an epidemic wave which commenced in December, 1952.
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