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 1969
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Merton]
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INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND PROPHYLACTIC
MEASURES
Table 1.
| Disease | Suffering | Excluded on suspicion | Infection at home | Total exclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Fever | 43 | - | 1 | 44 |
| Measles | 352 | — | 2 | 354 |
| Whooping Cough | 6 | — | — | 6 |
| German Measles | 89 | — | 5 | 94 |
| Chicken Pox | 296 | — | — | 296 |
| Mumps | 512 | 10 | 2 | 524 |
| Jaundice | 3 | — | 1 | 4 |
| Other | 70 | 2 | 3 | 75 |
| Totals | 1,371 | 12 | 14 | 1,397 |
Table 2.
| Disease | Suffering | Excluded on suspicion | Total exclusions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Impetigo | 8 | - | 8 |
| Scabies | 1 | — | 1 |
| Other | 4 | — | 4 |
| Totals | 13 | — | 13 |
Compared with 1968, there were 147 more cases of communicable
disease notified as a result of which children were excluded from
School.
Sonne Dysentery
In March, there was a minor outbreak of dysentery at a Junior
School involving eight cases. Fortunately this outbreak cleared up
very quickly and necessitated only 100 special tests.
In May, an explosive outbreak of Sonne dysentery occurred at a
Primary School. The investigation of this outbreak involved the
Health Department and the Public Health Laboratory Service in a
great deal of work as the cases, their families and all immediate
contacts, had to be investigated.
The excellent co-operation received from all concerned including
the school staff resulted in the infection being cleared up in a remarkably
short time in spite of the fact that there were 109 positive
cases necessitating over 1,100 laboratory tests.
Following the outbreak, it was necessary to keep a close check
for possible cases of dysentery in many other primary schools in the
Borough and, in all, 202 persons connected with 16 schools were
investigated.
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