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
City of London 1925
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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7
SHEERNESS BOARDING STATION.
(Medical Inspection at Sheerness.)
The routine inspection of incoming ships at Sheerness has been in abeyance
since the retirement of Dr. Legge. Dr. F. H. Watson, of Sheerness, has been retained
to carry out all the minimum duties in connection with declared Infectious
Diseases on incoming ships. This negative position—there have been no declarations
of illness during the past year—is not a satisfactory rendering of Port
Sanitation and your Worshipful Committee has been exploring the position in
consultation with the Rochester Port Sanitary Authority and the Ministry of
Health with a view to finding a satisfactory method of securing inspection on
every vessel from foreign ports which enters and remains in the Port of London
Sanitary Authority's jurisdiction.
TABLE II.—INFECTIOUS DISEASE.
| DISEASE. | 1916. | 1917. | 1913. | 1919. | 1920. | 1921. | 1922. | 1923. | 1924. | Mean Annual No. for 10 years ending 31st Dec., 1925. | 1925. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Cases Reported : | |||||||||||
| Cholera (including suspected cases). | 5 | 2 | - | 9 | 10 | - | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3.1 | - |
| Yellow Fever (ditto) | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | - |
| Plague (ditto) | - | 18 | 12 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 8.1 | 3 |
| Smallpox | 15 | 2 | 16 | 43 | 27 | 9 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 18.5 | 27 |
| Scarlet Fever | 5 | - | 8 | 4 | 11 | 28 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 10.3 | 22 |
| Diphtheria | 7 | 9 | 23 | 25 | 21 | 20 | 44 | 29 | 23 | 22.4 | 23 |
| Enteric Fever | 61 | 43 | 26 | 77 | 51 | 44 | 29 | 49 | 42 | 47.1 | 49 |
| Measles | 836 | 168 | 256 | 52 | 513 | 60 | 20 | 82 | 46 | 211.0 | 77 |
| German Measles | 8 | 33 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 8 | - | 19 | 18 | 12.3 | 14 |
| Erysipelas | 1 | - | - | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | 2 | 5 | 1.7 | 2 |
| Typhus Fever | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | .4 | - |
| Continued Fever | 5 | 2 | 2 | - | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2.2 | - |
| Relapsing Fever | - | - | 19 | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | 2.1 | - |
| Tuberculosis :— | |||||||||||
| Pulmonary | 53 | 45 | 38 | 51 | 67 | 54 | 44 | 83 | 90 | 60.7 | 82 |
| Other kinds | 19 | 26 | 20 | 35 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 13.1 | 11 |
| Other diseases (including Chickenpox). | 44 | 166 | 2,552 | 1,887 | 766 | 310 | 348 | 336 | 319 | 709.1 | 363 |
| Total | 1,059 | 515 | 2,976 | 2,213 | 1,493 | 549 | 530 | 637 | 578 | 1,122.3 | 673 |
| (b) Treated in Port Sanitary Hospital : | |||||||||||
| Cholera (including suspected cases). | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - |
| Yellow Fever (ditto) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Plague (ditto) | - | 9 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 1* | - | - | - | 3.4 | - |
| Smallpox | 2 | - | 1 | 13 | 10 | - | - | 3 | - | 3.2 | 3 |
| Scarlet Fever | 2 | - | 5 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 2 | - | 6 | 4.8 | 16 |
| Diphtheria | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 4 |
| Enteric Fever | 34 | 15 | 7 | 42 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 16.0 | 6 |
| Measles | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | 35 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 7.1 | 7 |
| Erysipelas | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | 2 | 1 | .5 | - |
| Typhus Fever | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Continued Fever | 4 | 8 | 6 | - | 1 | 3 | - | 2 | - | 2.4 | - |
| Other diseases (including Chickenpox). | 6 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 10 | 31 | 19.2 | 39 |
| Total | 53 | 61 | 57 | 90 | 80 | 48 | 33 | 29 | 60 | 58.6 | 75 |
* Plague negative.