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 1964
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hackney]
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At the end of the year the following 158 premises were registered
| Fish curing | 16 |
| Manufacture of meat pies and jellied eels | 5 |
| Manufacture of canned soups | 1 |
| Fish frying | 19 |
| Food Vending Machines (Sausages) | 3 |
| 158 |
SECTION 23 (Prevention of spread of disease by ice-cream). Every manufacturer
of, or dealer in ice cream shall, upon the occurrence of certain diseases
among the persons living or working in or about the premises on which the icecream
is manufactured, stored or sold, forthwith give notice thereof to the
Medical Officer of Health. If the Medical Officer of Health has reasonable
ground for suspecting that any ice-cream or substance intended for use in the
manufacture of ice cream is likely to cause any disease communicable to human
beings he may give notice to the person in charge thereof that, until further
notice, the ice cream or substance in question, is not to be used for human
consumption. No action was necessary under this section.
SECTION 24 (Sale of horseflesh). No person shall sell or offer or expose
for sale or have in his possession for the purpose of sale, any horseflesh
for human consumption elsewhere than in premises, or in a stall, vehicle or
place, over or on which a notice in legible letters stating that horseflesh is
sold there is displayed in a conspicuous position. No person shall supply
horseflesh for human consumption to a purchaser who has not asked to be
supplied with horseflesh. No contraventions of this section were discovered.
SECTION 26 (Cases of food poisoning to be notified). Under this section a
registered medical practitioner on becoming aware or suspecting that a person
whom he is attending is suffering from food poisoning, shall forthwith notify
same to the Medical Officer of Health of the district.
(a) Outbreaks of food poisoning due to identified agents: One small family
outbreak involving 4 notified cases was caused by Salmonella Reading. A
second family outbreak, involving 3 notified cases, was caused by Salmonella
Typhimurium, A third family outbreak, involving two notified cases, was
caused by Clostridium Welchii.
(b; Single cases notified totalled 15.
(c) The bacteriological findings in the 24 notified cases were as follows:-
| Organism | All Ages | Under 1 year | 1-2 years | 2-3 years | 3-4 years | 4-5 years | 5 10 years | 10 - 15 years | 15 - 20 years | 20 35 years | 35-45 years | 45-65 years | 65 and over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CI. Welchii | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – |
| Salmonella Brandenburg | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| " Glostrup | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| " London | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – |
| " Ndolo | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – |
| " Reading | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | 1 | – | – |
| " Typhimurium | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 3 | 4 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| Totals | 24 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 5 | 6 | – | 2 | 3 | 2 | – |
SECTION 27 (Inspect ion and control of infected food). If the Medical Officer
of Health of a district has reasonable ground for suspecting that any food of
which he, or any other officer of the local authority of the district, has
procured a sample under the provisions of this Act is likely to cause food
poisoning, he may give notice to the person in charge of the food that, until
his investigations are completed, the food, or any specified portion thereof,
is not to be used for human consumption and either is not to be removed, or