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 1932
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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They have suffered much less from deliberate defacement than was anticipated.
Your Sanitary Inspectors also carry copies for distribution to the Masters of ships in
which cases of venereal diseases are notified.
Your Medical Officer wrote to the Secretary of the British Council for the Welfare
of the Mercantile Marine, suggesting that double-sided glass covered notice-boards
should be erected at the various exits from the docks and that in these should be
displayed notices in appropriate foreign languages giving seamen information
regarding local hospitals, clinics, sailors' homes, boarding houses, facilities for recreation,
&c., in fact everything which would suggest to them a definite place to make
for when they leave their ships as an alternative to aimless wandering about the
streets exposed to the various risks which this entails.
The British Council adopted the scheme, but have been obliged to modify it
because sufficient funds were not available to carry out the proposals in full.
Table C.
Cases of Infectious Sickness landed from Vessels.
| Disease. | Number of Ca ses during 1932. | Average Number of Cases for | Number of vessels | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passengers. | Crew. | previous 5 years. | concerned. | |
| Small-pox | — | 2 | 1.8 | 2 |
| Scarlet Fever | — | — | 12.6 | — |
| Diphtheria | 2 | 5 | 8.8 | 7 |
| Enteric Fever | 3 | 8 | 19.2 | 10 |
| Measles | 1 | — | 10.8 | 1 |
| German Measles | — | — | 13.2 | — |
| Erysipelas | — | 1 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Continued Fever | — | — | 0.6 | — |
| Pulmonary Tuberculosis | 76 | 24 | 68.6 | 65 |
| Tuberculosis (other kinds) | — | 2 | 3.0 | 2 |
| Pneumonia | 3 | 5 | 15.2 | 8 |
| Influenza | 1 | 4 | 4.8 | 3 |
| Cerebro-spinal Meningitis | 3 | — | 0.2 | 2 |
| Dysentery | 1 | 3 | 10.6 | 4 |
| Encephalitis Lethargica | — | — | — | — |
| Malaria | 4 | 9 | 17.8 | 11 |
| Chicken-pox | 4 | 14 | 16.8 | 8 |
| Remittent and Relapsing Fever | — | — | 0.2 | — |
| Mumps | 1 | 2 | — | 2 |
Note.—The following oases of infectious disease occurred on board Training Ships moored in the Thames:—
Measles 3, German Measles 10, Tuberculosis (other kinds) 1, Scarlet Fever 7, Cerebro-spinal Meningitis' l,
Chicken-pox 4.
The following cases of infectious disease occurred amongst persons resident in the dock areas or on
Houseboats:—
Erysipelas 1, Scarlet Fever 1.
Table D.
Cases of Infectious Sickness occurring on Vessels during the Voyage, but disposed of prior to arrival.
| Disease. | Number of Cases during 1932. | Average Number of Cases for | Number of vessels | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passengers. | Crew. | previous 5 years. | concerned. | |
| Cholera | — | 3 | 3.0 | 1 |
| Plague | — | — | 0.6 | — |
| Small-pox | 2 | 10 | 12.2 | 8 |
| Scarlet Fever | 2 | 2 | 3.0 | 4 |
| Diphtheria | 3 | — | 3.4 | 3 |
| Enteric Fever | 5 | 7 | 21.2 | 11 |
| Measles | 13 | 8 | 28.6 | 14 |
| German Measles | 12 | — | 4.4 | 6 |
| Erysipelas | — | — | 2.2 | — |
| Continued Fever | — | — | 0.4 | — |
| Pulmonary Tuberculosis | 25 | 10 | 43.0 | 25 |
| Tuberculosis (other kinds) | 1 | — | 1.0 | 1 |
| Pneumonia | 5 | 13 | 32.2 | 14 |
| Influenza | 206 | 78 | 153.2 | 5 |
| Cerebro-spinal Meningitis | — | 2 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Dysentery | 5 | 8 | 14.4 | 8 |
| Encephalitis Lethargica | — | — | 0.6 | — |
| Malaria | 7 | 26 | 83.4 | 19 |
| Chicken-pox | 11 | 21 | 32.8 | 19 |
| Remittent and Relapsing Fever | — | — | — | — |
| Mumps | 18 | 6 | — | 11 |