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
Merton 1965
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Merton]
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Details of domiciliary visiting by Health Visitors are given below:—
| Visits in connection with old cases | 963 |
| Visits in connection with new cases | 42 |
| Visits in connection with contacts | 264 |
| Total | 1269 |
During the year B.C.G. inoculation of school children in the thirteen-year-old age group was carried out:—
| Number of children skin tested | 1753 |
| Number found negative | 1544 |
| Number vaccinated with B.C.G | 1537 |
No children with positive skin tests were known to be contacts
with notified cases of tuberculosis.
One-hundred and fifty-five of the children with positive skin
tests were X-rayed. No case of active disease was found.
During the year the following notifications of Tuberculosis were received: —
| Males. | Females. | |
|---|---|---|
| Respiratory | 30 | 15 |
| Non-respiratory | 3 | 6 |
The death rates per 1,000 population were 0.07 respiratory and
0.000 non-respiratory, compared with 0.04 and 0.006 respectively
for England and Wales.
AMSS X-RAY
In addition to the general practitioner service, visits were made
to industrial sites throughout the area and sessions were held for the
general public. The service is of great value in the early diagnosis
of pulmonary tuberculosis and non-tuberculous abnormalities.
The results are tabulated below: —
| Number X-rayed | Pulmonary T.B. found | Primary Lung Cancer found | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males | Females | Males | Females | Males | Females | |
| General Practitioner Service | 912 | 745 | 2 | 2 | 11 | — |
| Public and Industrial Sessions | 10,776 | 6,727 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
| Totals | 11,688 | 7,472 | 11 | 8 | 18 | 1 |
DEATHS
There were 13 deaths from respiratory tuberculosis during the
year. The table of causes of death on page 17 gives an analysis by age
and sex.
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