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
Malden and Coombe 1957
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Malden & Coombe]
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9.
Dysentery.
31 cases of the mild sonne dysentery occurred, chiefly affecting
younger school children. This condition is highly infectious among
young children and its incidence has been increasing during the past
few years throughout the country.
Food Poisoning.
There was one outbreak of food poisoning involving 4 persons.
The cause of the outbreak was tin, due to the failure of lacquer on the
internal surface of a tin of rhubarb. The tin was one of a batch
canned two years prior to sale.
In addition there were 3 single cases of food poisoning which
were due to salmonella typhi-murium 1, salmonella monschaufl- 1 and
salmonella enteritidis 1.
*
Cases removed to Isolation Hospitals.
| Dysentery | 2 |
| Food poisoning | 1 |
| Gastro enteritis | 1 |
| Measles | 6 |
| Meningitis | 1 |
| Pneumonia | 6 |
| Poliomyelitis (non=paralvtic) | 1 |
| Poliomyelitis (paralytic) | 3 |
| Typhoid fever | 1 |
| Whooping cough | 6 |
| 27 | |
Number of notifications received yearly for the past six years.
| 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acute poliomyelitis | 14 | 8 | 1 | 20 | 2 | 5 |
| Diphtheria | ||||||
| Dysentery | 97 | 1 | 19 | 49 | 31 | |
| Erysipelas | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Food poisoning | 9 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 7 |
| Malaria | 2 | |||||
| Measles | 244 | 574 | 76 | 538 | 93 | 627 |
| Meningococcal infection | 1 | - | 1 | |||
| Ophthalmia neonatorum | 1 | |||||
| Pneumonia | 15 | 26 | 19 | 28 | 22 | 20 |
| Puerperal pyrexia | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Scarlet fever | 52 | 40 | 16 | 16 | 27 | 18 |
| Typhoid fever | - | 1 | 1 | |||
| Tuberculosis (sill forms) | 47 | 39 | 31 | 27 | 20 | 33 |
| Whooping cough | 76 | 165 | 85 | 57 | 90 | 64 |