London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Hackney 1936

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hackney]

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Measles.—The number of cases of measles and german measles reported to the Public Health Department from various sources in 1936 was 2,762 as compared with 64 cases in 1935 and 2,478 in 1934. The following table shows the number of cases reported in each month of the year:—

Month.No. of Cases Reported.
January165
February547
March1,029
April529
May289
June147
July36
August5
September10
October1
November2
December2
Total2,762

Visits were paid by the Health Visitors to the homes of 2,547
of these cases with a view to ensuring that the children were
receiving proper care and attention. The nurses of the Hackney
District Nursing Association paid 3,874 visits to 289 patients.
No difficulty was experienced in securing the admission of cases
to the London County Council's hospitals. The number of cases
removed to hospital was 524 as compared with 23 in 1935 and 330
in 1934.
The Council accepted financial responsibility for the immunisation
by the use of convalescent measles serum of two children in
whose family cases of measles had occurred.
The sanction of the Ministry of Health was obtained to payment
by the Council for oxygen required by children of the poorer
inhabitants of the Borough suffering from measles, and payment was
made in the case of a child who was suffering from pneumonia as a
complication of measles.
Forty-five deaths from measles occurred in 1936 as compared
with 1 in 1935 and 27 in 1934. The mortality rate per 1,000
inhabitants in 1936 was, therefore, 0.21, the rate for London being
0.14.