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
Deptford 1931
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Deptford, Metropolitan Borough of]
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Diphtheria.
| Year | No. of Cases | Attack Rate per 1,000 population | No. of Deaths | Case Mortality per cent. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average 1915-24 | 322 | 2.8 | 19 | 5.9 |
| 1925-29 | 496 | 4.3 | 14 | 2.8 |
| 1930 | 434 | 3.9 | 4 | 0.9 |
| 1931 | 264 | 2.5 | 12 | 4.5 |
It will be noted that, although there has been a reduction in the
incidence of the disease, the case mortality has increased very considerably.
This should lead parents to consider the advisability of
protecting their children from the disease by the method of artificial
immunisation. The Borough Council has established a clinic for this
purpose and, with proper safeguards as adopted there, it may confidently
be said that no risk attaches to the method.
The work of the Diphtheria Immunisation Clinic has been undertaken
by Dr. Donnelly, who has very kindly furnished me with the
following Report:—
Schick testing and inoculation began in March, 1927. The figures for successive years are as follows:-
| Year. | Positive. | Number of Negative. | Schick Tests. Unknown Result. | Total. | Fully Inoculated. | Partly Inoculated. | No. of Inoculations given. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 214 | 152 | 8 | 374 | 410 | 15 | 1233 |
| 1928 | 85 | 75 | 14 | 174 | 168 | 65 | 580 |
| 1929 | 21 | 27 | 7 | 55 | 72 | 15 | 221 |
| 1930 | 15 | 27 | — | 42 | 65 | 3 | 199 |
| 1931 | 6 | 7 | - | 13 | 17 | 5 | 58 |
Number of Schick Re-tests.
| Positive. | Negative. | Unknown Result. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | - | - | - | - |
| 1928 | 34 | 134 | 13 | 181 |
| 1929 | 8 | 55 | 3 | 66 |
| 1930 | 5 | 39 | 1 | 45 |
| 1931 | 3 | 21 | 2 | 26 |
Schick tests are performed 9 to 12 months after the completion of
three inoculations, even in the case of children under 6 years. These
are not tested in the first instance as the proportion of reaction is so