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
Hackney 1954
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hackney]
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12
PREVALENCE AND CONTROL OF INFECTIOUS AND
CONTAGIOUS DISEASES
The following diseases are compulsorily notifiable in Hackney:-
Anthrax
Cholera
Continued Fever
Diphtheria (or Membranous Croup)
Dysentery
Encephalitis, Acute
Erysipelas
Food Poisoning (or suspected Food
Poisoning)
Glanders
Hydrophobia
Leprosy
Malaria
Measles
Meningococcal Infection
Ophthalmia Neonatorum
Paratyphoid Fever
Plague
Pneumonia, Acute Influenzal
Pneumonia, Acute Primary
Poliomyelitis, Acute
Puerperal Pyrexia
Relapsing Fever
Scabies
Scarlet Fever
Smallpox
Tuberculosis
Typhoid Fever
Typhus Fever
Whooping Cough
The eight deaths from infectious diseases were as follows:-
| Encephalitis, Infective | 1 |
| Pneumonia, Acute Primary | 5 |
| Meningococcal Infection | 2 |
In no case was the existence of the disease confirmed, and the final diagnoses were as follows:-
| Laryngitis | 1 |
| Toxic Erythema (Stevens-Johnson Syndrome) | 1 |
| Ulcerative tonsillitis | 2 |
| Streptococcal tonsillitis | 1 |
| Monilia infection of pharynx | 1 |
DYSENTERY. Notifications of Sonne dysentery numbered 340 as compared with 103
in the previous year. Forty-one cases were admitted to hospital for treatment
and there were no deaths. The incidence of this disease was again mainly
sporadic but in the early part of the year some 65 cases were found to be
associated with a primary school. In the latter part of the year two small
outbreaks were associated with day nurseries and one with a primary school.
ENCEPHALITIS, ACUTE INFECTIVE. Two cases of this disease were notified. A
girl aged 23 years recovered after a stay of 19 days in hospital. The second
case, a child aged 20 months, died in hospital and the cause of death was
certified as Acute Virus Encephalitis.
MALARIA. The two notifications of malaria received related to men who had
served with the Armed Forces in the Far East.
MEASLES. Notifications of measles to the number of 799 were received as compared
with 1,508 in the previous year. There were no deaths associated with
this disease.
MENINGOCOCCAL INFECTION. Four cases of this disease were notified and all
were treated in hospital. A child aged ten months died soon after admission
to hospital and the cause of death was certified as "Adrenal haemorrhage due to
acute Meningococcal Septicaemia". The three other cases - children aged six