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 1972
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Merton]
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The following table shows the corrected notifications of infectious disease received in 1972 and in the preceding seven years:—
| Disease | 1972 | 1971 | 1970 | 1969 | 1968 | 1967 | 1966 | 1965 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measles | 397 | 427 | 738 | 964 | 322 | 1777 | 851 | 2428 |
| Dysentery | 4 | 92 | 21 | 139 | 5 | 20 | 39 | 34 |
| Scarlet Fever | 28 | 50 | 42 | 48 | 55 | 60 | 45 | 62 |
| Whooping Cough | 10 | 50 | 53 | 8 | 49 | 117 | 74 | 42 |
| Typhoid Fever | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | 1 |
| Food Poisoning | 3 | 16 | 65 | 23 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| Malaria | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Infective Jaundice | 21 | 29 | 20 | 36 | 11 | - | - | - |
| Acute Meningitis | 5 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | l |
| Opthalmia Neonatorum | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| Tuberculosis: | ||||||||
| Respiratory | 28 | 20 | 29 | 38 | 36 | 41 | 48 | 45 |
| Non-Respiratory | 5 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| Acute Encephalitis | — | — | — | 2 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Leptospirosis | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| Paratyphoid | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| Poliomyelitis (Paralytic) | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Totals | 503 | 701 | 985 | 1274 | 494 | 2023 | 1066 | 2633 |
| Note: Infective jaundice not notifiable until 1968 | ||||||||
Cholera
Four persons arriving in this country without valid certificates
of vaccination against cholera were kept under surveillance for the
required period. All remained well.
Diphtheria
There were no notifications of diphtheria during the year 1972
but constant efforts were maintained to keep the immunised state of
children satisfactory.
Dysentery
A total of 17 confirmed cases of dysentery were notified in 1972,
as against 92 in 1971; but the number in 1971 included 78 children
who were involved in a dysentery outbreak after their return from a
mediterranean cruise. A total of 52 people were investigated as contacts
of the confirmed cases of sonne dysentery.
Only four of the 17 cases were notified by a doctor, the remainder
coming to the notice of the Health Department through the Public
Health Laboratory Service.
After being informed of a parent and child who were connected
with a private day nursery having Flexner dysentery, it was decided
to investigate the staff and all the children concerned; fortunately all
were found to be negative.
One of the cases of dysentery was a patient in a maternity
hospital but no-one else became involved.
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