London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hackney 1941
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hackney]
This page requires JavaScript
23
quently obtained of articles informally taken and reported
adulterated and are included above.
The average composition of all the formal milk samples taken
was 3.5 per cent. milk fat and 9 per cent. solids not fat.
PREVALENCE OF, AND CONTROL OVER, INFECTIOUS
AND OTHER DISEASES.
During the year under review 1,675 cases of notifiable infectious
disease occurred as compared with 705 in the previous year.
From the following table it will be seen that this increase w fairly largely due to the increased incidence of measles and whoo ing cough, though there were small increases also in the incidence scarlet fever and diphtheria:—
| Disease. | 1941 | 1940 |
|---|---|---|
| Acute Influenzal Pneumonia | 17 | 8 |
| Acute Primary Pneumonia | 76 | 101 |
| Cerebro-spinal Fever | 32 | 37 |
| Diphtheria | 84 | 57 |
| Encephalitis Lethargica | 1 | — |
| Enteric Fever | 13 | 5 |
| Erysipelas | 58 | 61 |
| Dysentery | 6 | 1 |
| Measles | 659 | 166 |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 14 | 18 |
| Poliomyelitis | 1 | — |
| Puerperal Fever | 4 | 12 |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 52 | 90 |
| Scarlet Fever | 142 | 121 |
| Whooping Cough | 516 | 28 |
| 1,675 | 705 |
The attack rates for the principal infectious diseases in England and Wales, London and Hackney were as follows:—
| Disease. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cerebro-spinal Fever | 0.25 | 0.30 | 0.25 |
| Diphtheria | 1.25 | 0.93 | 0.67 |
| Enteric Fever | 0.12 | 0.09 | 0.10 |
| Erysipelas | 0.30 | 0.50 | 0.46 |
| Measles | 10.33 | 4.77 | 5.32 |
| Pneumonia | 1.25 | 1.07 | 0.75 |
| Scarlet Fever | 1.47 | 1.01 | 1.14 |
| Whooping Cough | 4.39 | 3.50 | 4.17 |